



v.. : 






LIBRARY Of CONGRESS. 

Chap. , Copyright No. 

Shelf_j._W_._0> 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 




The Huntek Boy: Esau. 



(See page 69.) 



Bible Boys and Girls 



HOW THEY LOOKED, WHERE THEY 
LIVED, AND WHAT THEY DID 



BY f 

CALVIN DILL WILS 

AND 

JAMES KNAPP 



/ 



ILLUSTRATED BY GEORGE EOSTER BARNES 



J »M 4 1896 

vjf vy4SH' : H'^>' ^ /fl £* I 



?3 



BOSTON 
LOTHEOP PUBLISHING COMPANY 






Copyright, 1896, 

BY 

Lothrop Publishing Company. 



All Jilghts Reserved. 



C. J. Petebs & Son, Typographers, 
Boston. 



PREFACE 



In this volume we have intentionally departed 
from the usual method of writing Bible stories 
for the young. We have omitted all moraliz- 
ing and sermonizing : these are admirable in 
their place, but are not in keeping with our 
present purpose. We have endeavored to illus- 
trate the environment of many of the young 
people of Biblical times. Even where the Scrip- 
tures have not given us much incident, we 
have presented the historical background, and 
certain ancient conditions of youthful life. We 
have given little of the Bible narratives in re- 
gard to our characters after the period of their 
youth was passed. We have taken advantage 
of modern research and scholarship, and have 
used material that is not ordinarily found in a 
work of this kind, presenting it, however, in 
simple form. Our aim has been to illuminate 



6 PREFACE. 

boyhood and girlhood in Bible days. In the 
hope that we have made plainer and more in- 
teresting many things pertaining to the greatest 
book in the world, we submit this work to our 
readers. 

CALVIN DILL WILSON. 
JAMES KNAPP REEVE. 



CONTENTS 



Page 

The First Boy : Cain 9 

The Inventor Boy : Tubal-Cain 23 

The Heathen Boy : Abram r . . 33 

The Beautiful Girl : Sarah 47 

The Slave Girl : Hagar ■ . . 59 

The Hunter Boy : Esau 69 

The Prosperous Boy : Joseph 79 

The Princely Boy : Moses 95 

The Sisterly Girl : Miriam 110 

The Prophet Girl : Deborah 122 

The Athletic Boy : Samson 133 

The Priestly Boy : Samuel 143 

The Winning Girl : Kuth 155 

The Remarkable Boy : David 168 

The Witch Girl : Zeuphaniah 189 

The Worst Boy : Absalom 204 

The Queen Girl Maqueda: of Sheba 219 

The Farmer Boy : Amos 236 

The Worst Girl : Jezebel 250 

The Captive Boy : Daniel . *" 264 

7 



8 CONTENTS. 

Page 

The Boy King: Josiah 279 

The Persian Boy : Cyrus 294 

The Patriot Girl : Esther 313 

The Divine Boy : Jesus 327 

The Fisher Boy : Peter 349 

The Housekeeping Girls : Martha and Mary . . . 360 

The Scholarly Boy : Saul of Tarsus 368 

In Conclusion 387 



BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS, 



THE FIRST BOY: 

CAIN. 

No other boy in all this world has opened 
his eyes upon so striking a scene as was that 
which greeted the vision of the little Cain when, 
for the first time, he saw the light there, in the 
far East, upon the very border of Eden. 

This is what he beheld : two beautiful but 
terrible angels, who stood guard at the great 
gates of the garden ; in their hands were flam- 
ing swords, which turned every way, and which 
none could pass. There they stood, that Adam 
and Eve, this boy's parents, might never return 
to the Paradise from which they had been cast 
out, — the wonderful land that might have been 
theirs, and that Cain might have inherited, had 
it not been for their folly and wickedness. 

The boy was attracted by the white figures, 



10 BIBLE BOYS AND GIBLS. 

and by the bright, ever-turning blades ; but of 
course he did not then know what they meant, 
nor did he care. Yet, soon enough, he learned 
to know that those swords were to keep him- 
self, as well as his parents, out from that gar- 
den, teeming with all the bounties and luxuries 
of the earth, and to compel him, as he grew 
up, to earn his bread by hard work, as have 
most of the boys and men who have lived since 
his day. 

Inside those gates trees and vines grew, and 
ripe, luscious fruits hung from the branches, 
while the earth yielded, without toil, all things 
that the boy and his parents could wish. No 
garden has been so perfect since. Every tree 
that was pleasant to the sight or good for 
food was there, and among them were many 
rare and curious ones that have never grown 
elsewhere. In the very midst was the Tree of 
Life ; and not far away stood the Tree of the 
Knowledge of Good and Evil. 

But where Cain lived, outside of the garden, 
what a contrast ! Here stretched a great 
plain, with thorn-bushes instead of trees and 
fruits, and a soil in which grew little that 



THE FIRST BOY — CAIN. 1 1 

was good, until labor had been spent upon it. 
as men now, everywhere, spend labor upon their 
farms and gardens. 

One would think the parents of Cain would 
have gone as far as possible away from the 
gates ; thus they might in time forget what 
they had lost, and their child would not grow 
up to learn of it, and, having the comparison 
always before him, to know that he had suf- 
fered all this great loss because his parents did 
not do right. But they did not go ; they kept 
up their abode as close to the gates as they 
could, — on the outside; and thus Cain remained 
in sight of Eden all his boyhood, and until he 
had grown to be a man ; then he went away 
to the land of Nod. 

So he lay there in his mother's arms, or on 
the grass, or in his little bed, while he was yet 
a very small child, and winked his eyes in the 
light, and smiled at the angels with the flam- 
ing swords, because he did not know what they 
meant. He smiled at other things, too, when 
he was pleased, and cried just as often when he 
was not. 

By and by he began to speak. Now, do you 



12 BIBLE BOYS AND GIBLS. 

know what the first word was that this first 
child said ? It was " Mam-ma." Do you think 
we do not know, and that we are just imagining 
this ? No, indeed ! We know positively what it 
was, as much as if we had been there and heard 
it ; for the first effort at speech made by all 
children is the same, whatever their time or place. 
And while it does not have quite the form and 
sound of the spoken word as we older ones use 
it, it has been agreed that this first lisping is 
more nearly the mother-name than any other. 
It is what the little black baby in the middle 
of Africa says ; and it is what you said too. 
The little Indian babies of our own country 
say it ; and one of our rivers has a name 
that has grown out of this word. This is the 
river Miami, which still bears the name the 
Indians gave it, because long ago some Indian 
child lisped out that first word beside its banks. 

Oh, but Cain's parents were proud when his 
little lips had uttered that first word ! Eve 
was especially proud, because he looked at her 
when he said it, and bestowed the word and 
the name upon her. 

When he was born his parents were so happy 



THE FIRST BOY — CAIN. 13 

that for a time they almost forgot the loss of 
Eden. They watched the unfolding of their 
baby's life with the same tender care that par- 
ents of our own day give to their children. Eve 
was so overjoyed at his birth that she cried 
out, " I have gotten a man from the Lord ! " 
To be sure, he was a very small man. But his 
parents found comfort and pleasure in him, not- 
withstanding they were kept out of Eden ; and 
as they looked lovingly upon him, they could 
see that he would some day make a man. 

How they did stare at the little legs and 
arms and eyes and nose and mouth and all 
the wonderful little body ! Parents still have 
a habit of doing these things ; but, amazing as 
babies still seem to us, this one seemed very much 
more extraordinary to Adam and Eve ; for he 
was the first, the very first baby that had ever 
come into the world. Does not that seem very 
strange ? In all this great, big world, only one 
little boy! 

Let us stop just a moment more to consider 
Cain's boyhood. Have you ever thought who 
his parents were ? Not merely their names, 
for you all know they were Adam and Eve. 



14 BIBLE BOYS AND GIBLS. 

But we mean that they were the first man 
and the first woman in the world, just as he 
was the first child. We are accustomed to 
speak of Adam as the father of all mankind ; 
but he was, in very truth, the father of this 
boy Cain, as Eve was his mother. This boy 
stood in the same intimate relation to these 
two wonderful beings who were created — not 
born — that you do toward your own parents. 
No other child has had such parentage, except 
the brothers and sisters of Cain, and even 
among them he was first. 

And how was this first child housed and 
clothed ? In the garden, in the very beginning, 
his parents needed neither shelter nor covering 
for their bodies. But it was not long before 
their wants began to grow, and they made 
themselves aprons from the leaves of the fig- 
tree. After that they used the skins of beasts. 
So the child was clothed in soft pelts and furs, 
just as you may have seen some Indian boy 
dressed in deerskin. But Cain's garments were 
not finished and ornamented and sewn together ; 
they were rough, just as the animals themselves 
had worn them. 



THE FIRST BOY — CAIN. 15 

The home that was built outside the gates 
was a very crude affair; it was made from 
rushes, or from the branches and bark of trees, 
in the same manner that people in very prim- 
itive countries, especially in warm latitudes, now 
make their houses. For, as you will see before 
you have come to the end of this book, there are 
yet places in the world where the inhabitants 
have not made a very great advance over the 
conditions that surrounded Cain, in what we 
term the comforts and advantages of civilization. 

In one sense this boy was all alone ; for as 
you have seen, he was the only child in the 
whole world. There have been millions of chil- 
dren since, but none before that youngster, and 
none to keep him company through his early 
years. There were millions of fishes in the 
sea, and countless birds flying in the air and 
singing everywhere among the trees, and there 
were animals of every kind upon the earth. 
But there was just one lonesome little boy — 
nothing like him anywhere. 

As Cain outgrew his babyhood, and could 
stand upon his feet and walk about, and begin 
to take some intelligent interest in matters, he 



16 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

would look at the angels wonderingly, and wish 
that he might pass by the flaming swords and 
through the gates, and so learn what lay be- 
yond. But this was the one thing he was not 
allowed to do ; and thus he discovered, as every 
child has found since, that some things were 
forbidden him. Then he would play half -dis- 
contentedly around the outside, and look over 
the walls, and catch glimpses of the beautiful 
things in the garden, and ask a great many 
questions as to why he was not permitted to 
go inside. The answers he got were not very 
satisfactory, and his questions only made his 
parents look sadly at each other. 

With boyhood came the instinct for play, 
and the desire for toys. But games had not 
yet been invented ; and, even if they had been, 
we must remember there were no other boys 
with whom to play. Foot-ball and leap-frog 
and hide-and-seek were as unknown to him as 
were school and studies. Even his toys, with 
which he might play by himself, were no more 
than unshaped pieces of wood and stone. Oh, 
I forgot ! He had something besides these — 
rarer toys than any boys who read this have 



THE FIRST BOY— CAIN. 17 

often played with. I mean pieces of gold and 
pearls; both were very plentiful there, but they 
were valued no more than other things, for 
money had not been invented. Perhaps Cain 
treasured these more than his wooden and 
stone toys, for they were more pleasing to the 
eye ; but, beyond that, they possessed no greater 
value. And he played in the dirt too, as all 
children have done since the beginning of time, 
both in civilized and uncivilized lands. In this 
he could find endless resources, digging holes 
and filling them again, moulding the earth into 
odd forms, and taking it from one place only 
to put it in another — as you yourself have 
done if you have ever been a boy. But he 
had no knife to whittle with, no drum to beat, 
or to break open that he might see what was 
inside. He had no Christmas or Fourth of 
July or Washington's Birthday to celebrate ; 
and he died without ever having hung up his 
stocking — if he ever had stockings; and, worst 
of all, he never heard of Santa Claus. A strange 
boyhood that ! 

As the boy grew he became large and strong, 
and soon was able to join his father in the 



18 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

chase for the beasts, with whose skins they 
clothed themselves, and whose flesh they soon 
learned to use for food. They must have been 
very strong and intrepid hunters; for no tool 
or implement or weapon of any sort had yet 
been invented ; not even the bow and arrow 
and the spear with which the earliest savages 
hunted. 

They could only avail themselves of such 
weapons as nature had already provided. These 
were simply clubs and stones, and many must 
have been the fierce and dangerous hand-to- 
hand conflicts in which they engaged with the 
wild denizens of the plain and forest. Perhaps 
this was one of the things that helped to make 
Cain the impetuous and passionate man that he 
afterward became ; perhaps it had something to 
do with the evil which overtook him later in 
his life. 

After he had been the only boy in the world 
for a long while, a little brother came into 
their home, and then there were two boys in 
the world. Cain was just as fond of this new- 
comer as ever one brother was of another. He 
would play with him and nurse him with the 



THE FIRST BOY — CAIN. 19 

greatest delight ; he would give him the few 
toys he had been able to gather up for his own 
amusement ; he would teach him as much about 
the world as he had already found out. From 
that starting-point they went on to discover new 
things together. When Abel was old enough, 
Cain took him about ; he taught him to swim in 
the great river Euphrates, and instructed him in 
all the lore of the woods and the fields that 
boys have always been so quick to learn. And 
now Cain was not lonely any more; for he had 
that which a boy appreciates more than any- 
thing else in all the world, — a playmate. 

As the boys grew to be men, it was neces- 
sary they should do something for the purpose 
of providing for their support; for, though their 
wants were not very many as compared with 
ours, they must at least have food and cloth- 
ing. And, you must remember, there was no 
place where they could buy anything, even 
had they possessed money ; so they were com- 
pelled to produce for themselves or do without. 
Cain, therefore, became a farmer and culti- 
vated the ground, while Abel preferred to be a 
shepherd and look after the flocks. These two 



20 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

were the first definite occupations or employ- 
ments of men ; and from being thus the most 
ancient, they have always been considered among 
the most dignified. 

But, by this time, something had gone wrong 
with Cain's disposition; perhaps it was from be- 
ing continually there by the gates of Eden, and 
realizing more and more, as he grew older, what 
he had lost. He became ugly and cross and 
sullen, and no longer spoke pleasantly to his 
brother. At last this habitual ill-temper showed 
itself in a sudden outbreak. The brothers were 
one day offering a sacrifice to God. Cain made 
an offering of the things that he had raised 
from the ground, which were fruits and grains. 
Abel presented sheep from his flock. Abel's 
offering was made cheerfully, in a better spirit 
than his brother's, whose manner was angry and 
sullen, as if he did not care greatly whether 
his sacrifice was accepted or not. Together 
they had built an altar of stones and earth ; and 
on this they had piled the grain and flesh, and 
set fire to all, as was their custom. But be- 
cause Abel offered his gifts in a better spirit, his 
sacrifice was accepted, and Cain's was not. Im- 



THE FIRST BOY — CAIN. 21 

mediately the latter became very angry ; and 
whirling up a club, he struck his brother, who 
fell down still and silent and white. Cain was 
greatly terrified when he saw what he had done, 
and called on Abel to rise and speak to him. 

When Abel did not move, Cain knelt beside 
him, and cried, and chafed his hands. He had 
killed beasts, and he knew that they fell down 
like this and could rise no more ; but he never 
thought a man would die so easily. Presently 
his parents came. They stood by in horror. 
They had been told that death would come be- 
cause of their sin in the Garden of Eden ; but 
the}' had never seen a dead man. Now the 
spectre of death had come into the human 
family, and at the hands of a brother. And 
as they stood and moaned, Adam cried out, 
"The curse is on us at last." 

Cain told them his story ; and there never 
has been a sadder group of people than that 
which stood about the dead Abel, almost in the 
very morning of the world. 

We can grow a little used to death. But 
that was the very first death, and it so stupefied 
and stunned these people that they knew not 



22 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

what to do or say. Abel lay so still ; he would 
not answer his mother when she stroked the 
bruised head, and washed away the blood, and 
held his face to hers and sobbed. When, after 
a long time, he did not move, they knew that 
death indeed had come ; and they buried him. 

And now there was a grave in the world. 
You see there were a good many first things 
during Cain's time. 

The Lord told Cain he must go away ; on ac- 
count of his awful deed, it was said, he should be 
a vagabond and fugitive upon the earth. At this 
Cain uttered a great cry, and declared that the 
punishment was more than^ he could bear. It 
was a terrible thing to have to go out into the 
world alone. But he was compelled to obey. 
The Lord put a mark on him so that as the 
world filled up with people he might be known, 
and might not be slain. So Cain wandered away 
into another country, and there he built a city. 

He had a son called Enoch, and he named 
the city for him. We suppose he continued to 
live in the land of Nod, and died there ; for, 
after that, there is no further record of this 
first boy. 



THE IX V EN TOR BOY — TUBAL-CAIN. 23 



THE INVENTOR BOY: 

TUBAL-CAIN. 

In order to realize the importance of this 
boy and his history, it is necessary for you to 
remember that, when he was born, men every- 
where in the world were without tools or im- 
plements of any kind, except those made of 
wood, of stone, or of horn. It seems very 
strange now, does it not, to think there once 
was a time when people had no axes, saws, 
knives, planes, hoes, spades, ploughs, hammers, 
or any of those things that are daily needed, 
and which we would find it almost impossible 
to do without, so strong has become the cus- 
tom of their use ? 

The life of the people who were without 
tools was much simpler than ours ; this means 
that they were not so far advanced in civiliza- 
tion. Much of the development of the human 
race has been possible only through having 
learned gradually to make and use tools, and 



24 BIBLE BOYS AND GIBLS. 

with these to accomplish vastly more than ever 
could have been done without them. One of 
the most important things in the whole history 
of mankind has been the invention or discovery 
of other materials than those mentioned above, 
from which tools and weapons could be made. 

Man has been well defined as a tool-using 
creature ; and much of his power in the world 
has certainly resulted from this faculty. For 
instance, many of the animals are much larger 
and stronger than man, and without tools he 
would not have been able to conquer them. 

The very first need that man had for any 
tool was probably in connection with animals. 
He required something by which he could kill 
game to eat, or slay the beasts that threatened 
him. The first things he used for this pur- 
pose were, no doubt, a branch of a tree that 
had blown off, and which he found would serve 
for a club ; or perhaps a stone that he found 
loose beneath his feet. Instinct told him to 
use these ; and he soon learned that, with some- 
thing of this kind in his hand, he could more 
than double his capacity to defend himself, and 
to slaughter game for food. 



THE INVENTOR BOY — TUBAL-CAIN. 25 

The next need he had for a tool was to 
work in the ground to prepare the earth for 
seed. In the beginning, he employed for this 
nothing more than a stick, pointed at the end, 
with which he made holes into which the seed 
could be dropped. 

Primitive as that method of planting seems, 
it is still practised. In the peninsula of Lower 
California, which you will see by your map is 
a Mexican possession lying between the Gulf 
of California and the Pacific Ocean, is a tribe 
of very ignorant and lazy Indians, called the 
Cucupahs. They exert themselves no more than 
is absolutely necessary in preparing for the mor- 
row, being content to live mainly upon fish, 
berries, and seeds provided by nature. But at 
the annual overflow of the Colorado River they 
go along the banks, and make holes in the mud 
with just such pointed sticks as these first agri- 
culturists used ; and into these holes they drop 
the seeds of corn, cover them with a little of 
the mud, and then wait for the crop to grow, 
giving it no further cultivation. 

But it was not very long that people had 
to rely upon such methods, either for killing 



26 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

beasts or for cultivating the soil. In every age 
and country observant and thoughtful men have 
always appeared who have found the way to 
improve upon the customs already practised, 
and upon the tools in use, or to supply them 
if none existed. Men soon found they could 
not comfortably depend on the wood that storms 
threw down from the trees, and that it would 
be a good thing if they could cut the trees 
for themselves whenever they desired. Next, 
they observed that broken stones have sharp 
edges, and that with these they could cut — 
after a fashion. The use of stone in this way 
marked a great advance for the human family. 
They soon went a step farther, and observed 
that they could do something besides break a 
stone to make a sharp edge ; they could rub it 
against another stone, and thus make it as sharp 
as was required; by the exercise of a little 
patience and skill they could form it into any 
shape. In the tombs of the mound-builders that 
are scattered all through our Western country 
are found stone implements of many sorts, which 
are probably of the same kind as were those 
which Tubal-Cain found the people using. 




The Inventok Boy: Tubal-Cain. 



THE INVENTOR BOY — TUBAL-CAIN. 27 

The next discovery was that a spear could be 
made by fastening a piece of sharp stone on the 
end of a stick. After a while, from observing 
the bending of the limbs of trees and feeling 
the force of the recoil, they got hold of the 
idea of the bow. They could thus send the 
little spear or arrow with considerable force at 
some distant object. So, you will see, they had 
by degrees produced the club, the spear, the bow 
and arrow, and the sharp stone axe. They 
could now kill game without the dangerous 
hand-to-hand contest ; they could take off the 
skin and make it into clothes for themselves ; 
they could cut down trees. 

They had to learn all these things for them- 
selves ; for we must remember that when, after 
his sin, Adam was cast out of Eden, men sank 
into a very low condition, and no knowledge 
was left to them. They were compelled to 
begin with everything at the very beginning. 

The first years of the world, in which these 
things were being discovered, have since been 
termed the Stone Age. Stone has been and 
still is a great friend of man, and we are not 
to forget how much of our progress has been 



28 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

due to it. The use of stone for weapons and 
tools has been universal. There is no country 
where the arrow-heads and axes of stone are 
not found. Our own country is strewn with 
them in countless numbers. 

Great progress was made in the use of these 
implements and in the manner of forming 
them. Axes of stone were made, so strong and 
large and perfect that men could cut great 
trees with them, when the axe was well fastened 
to a handle with thongs of deer or other skin. 
The arrow-heads came to be made of very 
regular form. Then men had some idea of 
beauty in regard to their weapons ; they be- 
gan to polish them, and to seek the hardest 
and finest stones from which to make them. 
They would go long distances to the best quar- 
ries they could find, and cut out blocks and 
carry them home, so that at their leisure they 
could make whatever was desired. 

This was the state of things when Tubal- 
Cain was a boy. No one knew anything about 
any sort of tools except those of stone or 
wood. This boy had a great head on him ; 
he had, too, a very observant eye, one of the 



THE INVENTOR BOY — TUBAL-CAIN. 29 

most important requirements for an inventor 
or discoverer. 

In watching the making of tools and their 
use, he was filled with the idea of the imper- 
fection of the method employed. He thought 
there ought to be some better way of doing 
things, but he did not see at first how any 
improvement could be brought about. Neverthe- 
less, he kept on observing and thinking. One 
day — as we will suppose, for this is the nat- 
ural way in which it might have occurred, 
though we do not have any real account of it 
— he picked up a piece of copper. You must 
know that copper, while often mixed with clay 
and other substances, is sometimes found in 
pieces that are almost pure. Having discovered 
this copper on the ground, he was very curious 
to examine it, and carried it home. 

He looked at that piece of metal a great 
deal, probably for many days, considering it 
and studying its possibilities. Finally he began 
to hammer at it with a stone, and found it 
very malleable ; that is, it would take any 
shape he wished it to, without breaking or 
chipping as a stone would. 



30 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS 

That was one of the great days in the prog- 
ress of the world, when it was found that 
there was a substance which, unlike stone or 
wood, was malleable. Perhaps young Tubal- 
Cain did nob comprehend the importance of the 
event ; but he kept hammering away, until it 
dawned on him that he might pound it into 
the shape of an axe. This he did ; and the 
first metal tool was made. 

Still this young inventor kept on observing ; 
and one day he noticed on the earth, under the 
fire that was built for cooking purposes, a dark 
substance he had never observed before, and it 
was running almost like water. Here was 
another thing for him to investigate. So he 
watched and stared at the singular stream, and 
after a while it occurred to him to throw some 
of the earth from which the stream seemed to 
run on the fire ; and the dark stream flowed 
from it likewise. But after it had run a little 
distance away from the fire it began to grow 
cold again and harden. When he took some 
of it in his hand, he found that though it had 
come out of the earth, it was very different 
from the clay. It was darker and harder. 



THE INVENTOR BOY — TUBAL-CAIN. 31 

Thus was iron found ; and it was discovered 
that an ore could be fused in the fire, and the 
fire would cleanse it from dirt and dross, and 
that a metal that could be worked and made into 
tools would result. That day, when iron was dis- 
covered, and found to be fusible, was also one of 
the memorable days in the history of humanity. 

Besides the discovery of fire, the cooking of 
food, the use of clothing, of wooden and stone 
tools, and the planting of grain, these were the 
most wonderful advances that had up to that 
time been made in the world. 

Then this extraordinary youth, who was the 
Edison of his day, went on to find out how 
to work these metals which he had discovered, 
and how to use them for the purposes for which 
stone had until that time been employed. He 
had observed the effect of the wind in making 
a fire burn more fiercely, so he invented the 
bellows, by which he could blow on the metals 
he was working with. He began to hammer at 
the metals when he had softened them ; and 
lo ! in a short time he had made axes of iron, 
and spear-heads and arrow-tips, and many other 
things, all of iron. 



32 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

He was a wonder to all men. They de- 
lighted to see him at his marvellous forge, 
from which he turned out weapons and tools 
so much better and more serviceable than they 
had ever dreamed of. 

From these discoveries of Tubal-Cain have 
come all the working of metals in the whole 
world since. He was the first inventor ; he 
opened up the way. It is always comparatively 
easy to follow where some one else has shown 
the path. His was the hardest part. Now we 
are reaping the benefits of his great discoveries, 
and iron is worked into all shapes that are 
useful to man. You see the result of his genius 
in the stoves by which you are warmed, in the 
railroads on which you travel, in the telegraph 
wires that are above your heads, and in the 
millions of useful things which in our day are 
made from iron. 

Tubal-Cain was justly named "the father of 
all them who work in copper and iron." 



THE HEATHEN BOY — ABEAM. 33 



THE HEATHEN BOY: 
ABRAM. 

In the southwestern portion of our own coun- 
try — in New Mexico and Arizona — are vast 
sandy plains, dead levels of monotony, unbroken 
for great distances by hill or mountain. Upon 
their surface is presented the contrast of appar- 
ently barren lands, in the midst of which may 
be seen oases where grass is growing and cattle 
are grazing, and where orchards and vineyards 
flourish. This is explained by the fact that the 
land is in reality very rich, but that it is a 
country in which there is little rainfall, and the 
plants and fruits which are of value cannot 
grow because of insufficient moisture. The fer- 
tile places are those which have been irrigated ; 
this means that water has been brought there 
by artificial means, and applied to the land in 
such quantities as were necessary for the growth 
of the things planted. 

Sometimes the water is brought from a great 



34 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

distance, by canals that carry the melted snows 
from mountains whose peaks can barely be dis- 
cerned so far away are they, or by tapping the 
rivers that flow through the plains, and carry- 
ing their waters here and there where the 
farms and vineyards are. 

Some people who go out into that country 
are astonished at the great ditches, built with 
so much labor and expense; they are even more 
astonished to see how a sandy plain can be 
transformed into a beautiful garden merely by 
bringing water to it ; and they think the men 
who have been far-seeing enough to do this are 
very wise. 

And so they are ; but they are not original ; 
for, thousands of years ago, Chaldea, the coun- 
try of Abram, was just such a level and monot- 
onous plain. It had a rich alluvial soil that 
had been brought from the higher regions by 
the wash and overflow of the Tigris and the 
Euphrates. This soil was dry from insufficient 
rain-fall, but it was brought into the very highest 
cultivation by just such artificial irrigation as is 
attempted in our Arizona deserts. So Chaldea 
became very famous for its productiveness. The 



THE HEATHEN BOY — ABEAM. 35 

historian Herodotus asserts that its grain yielded 
sometimes a hundred-fold, and even three hun- 
dred-fold. In order that you may understand 
how much that was, we will tell you that the 
American farmer considers that he has done 
very well indeed if he harvests twenty-fold the 
amount that he sows. 

Herodotus said he had seen, in Chaldea, wheat 
and barley blades four fingers in breadth. Mil- 
let and sesame were among the other grains pro- 
duced there, and various articles of food were 
grown abundantly. There were pomegranates, 
apples, grapes, and tamarisks ; there was also 
the palm-tree, which yielded bread-fruit, wine, 
honey, vinegar, and mash for cattle, as well as 
wood and ropes. Of course all these things were 
not grown in their complete form, but were pre- 
pared from the tree and its products. It was 
then as now true that, wherever the palm grew, 
it was easy for the people to procure the necessi- 
ties of life ; for no other tree or plant ministers 
to the needs of man in so many different ways. 

Among other trees which grew on the plains 
of Chaldea were the acacia and the cypress, and 
an enormous reed, probably the bamboo, which 



36 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

was used in building — being shredded and 
made into matting, and placed between the suc- 
cessive layers of bricks. 

As the whole plain was composed of the fine 
earth washed down by the rivers, there was no 
stone upon it suitable for building ; but the 
clay was perfectly adapted for the making of 
bricks ; it was moulded in large forms, and dried 
in the sun, and was then used with the reeds, 
so that very substantial and comfortable houses 
were constructed. 

The people of Chaldea were a mixed race. 
Ur was the great port of the country, and many 
nationalities were to be found there ; for ships 
from thence traded with Ethiopia and the lands 
on the Red Sea, and the Persian Gulf and the 
Indian Ocean, and they brought back people 
from all those countries. 

Abram belonged to a Semitic family who had 
come out from the country to the north of 
Assyria, on the borders of Armenia. Terah, 
the father of Abram, belonged to the nomadic, 
or wandering, population near the city, who 
roamed the country with their flocks and herds. 
The Chaldeans were not a warlike race until 



THE HEATHEN BOY — ABEAM. 37 

the time of Nebuchadnezzar ; but that they cul- 
tivated the arts of peace, is testified by the great 
monuments of their architecture and sculpture 
that yet remain. 

Their religion was the worship of many gods. 
The principal deity was II, or Ra. After that 
came Ana, Belus, and Hea. The female powers 
worshipped were Vul, Shamas, San (the sun), 
and Hurki (the moon). There were also many 
lesser divinities, among them Nin, Bel-merodach, 
Nergal, Ishar, and Nebo. Among all these the 
favorite worship was that of the moon. All 
their religions were degraded and sensual, and 
they used charms and spells to cure diseases. 
Much of the Babylonian literature consisted of 
formulae for warding off disease, and sorcery 
for bewitching people or for exorcising evil 
influences. Many of their writings are treatises 
on omens and divinations. 

The clear atmosphere of the country favored 
the study of the stars ; so the people became 
versed in astrology, which was the forerunner 
of our modern science of astronomy. Mathe- 
matics, law, and government were also studied ; 
and the Chaldeans were very handy in weaving, 



38 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

metal-working, and gem-engraving. Writing was 
well known, but it was very different from our 
own method; their books were tablets of clay, 
on which letters were impressed, and libraries 
of these were collected. The Egyptians, as you 
know, wrote on stone, but the Chaldeans on 
bricks of clay. 

The Moon-god, Hurki, was worshipped in Ur 
in Abram's time, and remains of the temple 
erected to him twenty-two hundred years before 
Christ are still to be seen. The site of the 
town of Ur is marked by low mounds arranged 
in oval shape, about two miles in circumference. 
Rising above all the others is the great mound 
upon which the temple was built. Even to-day 
this stands seventy feet above the plain. The 
temple was made of large bricks, and had a 
foundation of great size. On its highest part 
was the shrine with the image of the god. A 
date grove was planted about it, to beautify the 
approach ; and the temple was visible for a great 
distance, being the most notable sight upon all 
the plain on account of its great size and 
height. 

The temple of Hurki was built by two mon- 



THE HEATHEN BOY — ABRAM. 39 

archs, the earliest of whom reigned at the date 
given above. The way of telling this is from 
a study of the manner of building; the lower 
portion of the temple had the bricks laid with 
bitumen, which was very plentiful there ; while 
lime mortar, which was not introduced until 
later, was used for the upper parts. There can 
also be traced the ruins of the palace called 
Rubutsiru, " The Supreme Prince," which was 
erected at the same time and by the same man 
who began the temple of Hurki. It was in 
the time of Rubutsiru' s son Dungi, also a great 
builder, that Abram was born, two thousand 
years before Christ. 

Ur was, in that day, a place of great impor- 
tance, being for a time, in fact, the superior of 
Babylon. It was then on the Persian Gulf ; but 
the land has filled in so much since Abram' s 
time that Ur is now far from the coast. The 
present name of the place is Mugheir. The 
word Ur means city ; and the name was prob- 
ably given to it because it was the first town 
settled in that locality. 

It was here, or near here, that Abram was 
born. It was amon^ such surrounding's as we 



40 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

have pictured, and under the influence of these 
false religions, that he grew up. And it is 
because of this latter fact that we have called 
him the heathen boy, which may have surprised 
you, as you have always thought him one of 
the best of men. So he was, but neverthe- 
less he was a heathen child. 

We are able to know so much about these 
people of Chaldea from the fact, that although 
they did not have books as we have, yet they 
wrote in the manner of which we have told you. 
Names of the contemporaries of Abram at Ur 
are still to be found with other writings on the 
bricks of the temples ; it seems therefore prob- 
able that he wrote down the events of his life 
in this way, for the purpose of transmitting 
them to his descendants. 

But for a long time these records lay there, and 
no one read them. One of the greatest things 
that has been done in our century is the dis- 
covery of these bricks, and of the manner in 
which they may be read, that we might thus 
learn what these ancient peoples had written 
for us. A hundred years ago no one had any 
idea of the history that was thus lying in the 



THE HEATHEN BOY — ABRAM. 41 

fields and deserts of Babylon and Egypt, and 
no one had a thought that we would ever be 
able to read it. But now the alphabets in which 
these records were put down are somewhat 
known, and the inscriptions are being studied 
and deciphered. There are societies that send 
out learned men to explore, to find buried cities, 
to dig up the stones and bricks, and to read 
what is on them. Even a few years ago boys 
had no way of finding out these things about 
Abram, and about other characters of which we 
shall tell you in this book. 

Abram was the youngest of three brothers, 
who were sons of Terah, reckoned the tenth 
man from Noah. Terah was, like the rest of 
the people, an idolater ; and Abram as a child 
was taught this worship. He was taken up to 
the great temple of the Moon-god, of which 
we have told you ; he saw the sacrifices offered 
there ; he often had, before his eyes, the sym- 
bol of Hurki, — a conical stone with a star 
above it. 

Here, too, he saw the ships come in from all 
countries ; he mixed with all sorts of people in 
the town ; but, from his earliest years, he was 



42 ' BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

filled with loathing for the vices of those about 
him ; and when he had reached the age of four- 
teen he refused longer to worship the idols of his 
father, and prayed to the Creator to save him 
from the bad practices of his countrymen. As 
he grew older he urged his father to leave off 
the worship of the idols ; but while his father 
agreed with him in what he said, he was afraid 
to do anything publicly, for fear of his life. 

Abram began very soon to do what he could 
to better the condition of the people, and to 
advance them in the arts. He is said to have 
improved upon the practice of sowing grain 
broadcast, and to have invented a kind of drill 
which was attached to the plough and covered 
the seeds as they were deposited. 

Several wonderful stories are told about him. 
We shall relate these merely as traditions, not 
asking you to believe them. 

A legend says that a star heralded his birth, 
and that Nimrod, the king, fearing him, required 
his father to bring the child to him that he might 
be slain. But Terah put a slave's child in the 
place of his son, and thus Abram was saved. He 
was then hidden some years in a cave, and when 



THE HEATHEN BOY — ABRAM. 43 

he came out and saw the heavens for the first 
time, he asked who made all these things. When 
he saw the sun he fancied that it must be the 
Creator. But when it set, he at once concluded 
that it could not have made all things, since now 
it appeared to be itself extinguished. 

When he saw the moon and stars he cried : 
" Surely the moon is Lord, and the stars are his 
ministers." But when they disappeared, as the 
sun had done, and the sun came again in their 
place, he cried, — 

" They could not have created things ; they 
must obey an invisible ruler. Him will I wor- 
ship." 

The lad grew so rapidly that his mother, who 
had been apart t from him for a short time, did 
not know him when they again met. She ex- 
claimed, k *How have you grown so much in so 
short a time?" 

He answered, " Learn from this that there 
is an Almighty Everlasting God." 

She asked, " Is there any other God than 
Nimrod ? " 

" Yes ; one who is Lord of heaven and of earth 
and of Nimrod. " 



44 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

His mother told Terah this, and he told the 
king. Whereupon Nimrod sent warriors to ar- 
rest the boy. But Abram prayed to God, who 
sent Gabriel to protect him, by shrouding the 
lad in a cloud. Upon seeing this the warriors 
were so frightened that they fled to Babylon, 
and Abram followed them, riding on the angel's 
shoulder. When he arrived, he cried, — 

" The Eternal is the only true God. There 
is none like him." 

Nimrod then declared a feast of seven days, 
and in that time he ordered the people to wor- 
ship no one but himself. But Abram went to 
the king at once and denounced his idolatry. 
While he was speaking all the temples of the 
idols in the city fell down. At this Nimrod was 
greatly frightened, and looked upon it as a sign 
that Abram was speaking the truth. When he 
had recovered from his fright he acknowledged 
the Lord as God, and sent Abram away in safety. 

According to the Book of Jubilees, when Abram 
cultivated the ground the ravens, at his com- 
mand, refrained from eating the grain sown. 

A Jewish legend is that Terah not only wor- 
shipped idols, but sold them. One day when 



THE HEATHEN BOY- — ABEAM. 45 

going on a journey he left Abram to sell the 
images. When purchasers came the boy asked 
them their age. One would say, " I am fifty 
years old," or sixty years, as the case might be. 

Upon this Abram would reply, " Woe to the 
man of sixty years who would worship the work 
of a day." Thus he would send them away 
without purchasing. 

Another myth is that once, when his towns- 
men had gone away, he destroyed seventy-two 
idols that were set up in a temple. For this 
he was condemned to be burned alive. Nimrod 
said to him, — 

,k Let us worship the fire." 

" Rather," said Abram. " the water that 
quenches the fire." 

" Well, the water," said the king. 

" Rather the cloud that carries the water," 
returned Abram. 

"Well, the cloud." 

; * Rather the wind that scatters the cloud." 

"Well, the wind." 

'•Rather man, for he endures the wind." 

At this Nimrod cried, " Thou art a babbler. 
I worship the fire, and will cast thee into it." 



46 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

Then Abram was thrown into the fire ; but 
he sat for seven days in the furnace unharmed, 
and was taken out in safety. 

It was also told that he burned to the ground 
the idol temple in Ur, and that his brother per- 
ished in the flames, trying to save the idols. 

But legend and myth are not needed to 
strengthen Abram's character. His story, as it 
it comes to us in the Bible under the name of 
Abraham, is that of steadfast purpose and un- 
faltering faith. He continued to live in Ur 
until he was a man sixty years of age. Then, 
at the Lord's command, he went to Haran and 
stayed there fifteen years. Afterwards he went 
to Egypt, and from thence into the land of 
Canaan, that had been promised to his descend- 
ants. When he was a very old man he died, 
and was buried near Hebron, in the cave Mach- 
pelah, in which he had buried his wife Sarah 
so many years before. 



THE BEAUTIFUL GIRL — SARAH. 47 



THE BEAUTIFUL GIRL: 

SARAH. 

We are now to tell you something of a girl 
who became the wife of Abraham, and so the 
mother of the Hebrew people. Her position is, 
therefore, one of the most conspicuous and no- 
table in all the history of the world ; it is that 
of the ancestress of a race, and that race the 
one which has given to the civilized world its 
religion. 

No doubt there were many proud and beauti- 
ful women in Ur of the Chaldees at that day ; 
but who among the rich and great ever thought 
then that the magnificently beautiful girl who 
was born and lived in one of the tents of the 
sheik Terah, in the camp outside the walls, 
was the only one destined to have a place in 
history ? All the other beauties of that time 
have disappeared like last year's snow ; not 
even a name is left. But Terah's daughter is 
immortal in the records of ~ humanity. So long 



48 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

as history exists, we shall remember the story 
of this one girl, and of this one alone, among 
the multitude of girls who lived in that far- 
off land and time. 

Probably she attracted much, attention there 
in her own home ; a beautiful and modest girl 
will anywhere. When she went up to the 
great temple of the moon, in the city, her 
beauty was such as to compel the passing 
glances of admiration ; but none could foresee 
her great destiny, nor that her name and story 
should live for ages. 

That she was a person of extraordinary 
beauty we are explicitly told. Moreover, her 
name gives additional proof of this; for that by 
which she was originally called, Sarai, means, 
according to the most recent and approved in- 
terpretation, the queenly. And the change to 
Sarah still carries some reference to her ap- 
pearance, for that means the princess ; as she 
was not a princess in fact, the presumption is 
that she looked like one. 

Later, when she had become the wife of 
Abraham, her great beauty kept him in con- 
stant terror, when they were in strange coun- 



THE BEAUTIFUL GIRL — SARAH. 49 

tries, lest he should be killed by some one who 
was attracted by her, and who envied him. In 
fact, one of the Pharaohs of Egypt, and the 
Philistine king Abimelech did, at different times, 
take her from her husband, though she was 
again restored to him without harm. In those 
days men who had the power did very much 
as they pleased, and especially in regard to 
carrying off women. 

Sarah lived in a very primitive time, and 
when girls were much more natural creatures 
than they now are in civilized countries. Girls 
now may be said to act ; they consider what 
others will think or say of their appearance, their 
conduct, and their dress. Perhaps our civiliza- 
tion has demanded this of them, and so they 
are not to blame for it. But it is true that 
they cannot now be as natural as Sarah was. 
To be sure, they are very much more accom- 
plished : they know more of music, of French, 
of fashions, and of society ; but there was a 
sweet simplicity about the girls of Sarah's day 
that is no longer possible. 

In saying this, and in looking back at life 
then, we are to remember that many of the con- 



50 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

ditions to-day have changed, while many of the 
things recorded of the women of Sarah's day, 
that might seem to us immodest, were not so 
regarded then. In justice to those primitive 
women we should keep in mind that they were 
very correct according to the ideas of the time 
in which they lived. 

In reading the story of Abraham in this 
book, you will learn that Terah was his father 
also. So that Sarah was the half-sister of the 
man who became her husband. She was the 
daughter of his father, but was the child of 
another mother. This marriage was quite in 
harmony with the practices then prevailing; for 
it was according to the universal custom of the 
time that near relatives should marry, even in 
the relationship of half-sister and brother. It 
was not until the time of Moses that this was 
changed ; so, while this seems unnatural to us, 
it was not in the least so to Sarah and Abra- 
ham, nor to their family and friends. 

Being in this relationship, and born and 
reared, not only in the same city, but in the 
same household, they grew up to a great degree 
under the same conditions. So, having read the 



THE BEA UTIFUL GIRL — SARAH. 51 

story of Abraham, which we have told you, you 
will already be familiar with the facts in regard 
to the city and country which were the place 
of Sarah's birth, and where her youth was spent. 
Terah was a sheik ; that is, the head of a 
migratory family, clan, or tribe, or the chief of 
a village ; his camp was outside the walls of 
the city in the fertile plains. He was the pos- 
sessor of great flocks and herds ; he had a mul- 
titude of servants and followers. So many were 
there of his family and dependants that their 
tents, indeed, made a village ; therefore these 
young people lived in the same settlement, but 
being of different mothers, they lived in separ- 
ate houses or tents ;* thus were kept apart to 
some degree, and did not have quite that iden- 
tity of surroundings that children of the same 
father would now have, living in one house and 
eating at the same table. Polygamy was then 
almost universal ; and as we shall show you 
again, in the story of Samuel, it was a source of 
much trouble in the households. It is even quite 
possible that there was not much friendship be- 
tween the mothers of Abraham and Sarah, so 
that in their early years they were kept apart 



52 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

by these differences more than they would other- 
wise have been. 

That portion of the world, which was then 
the only known portion, was full of roving 
tribes. While there were great cities and towns 
also, there were many people who had no fixed 
abodes, but went about continually with their 
tents, families, followers, and herds, according 
to the desirability of locations for pasture and 
water, or as they might be driven by their foes, 
or even as the constant spirit of unrest and 
desire for change might lead them. Those were 
times of unsettled conditions of life, of frequent 
battle, and many of the people lived in a state 
that was far removed from civilization. The 
men who had herds were compelled to keep 
themselves armed, to have a goodly number of 
followers armed likewise, and to be watchful 
and ready for attacks at any time. Any other 
wandering horde that saw the slighest chance of 
robbing and killing was likely to pounce upon 
them ; and their only safety was in numbers, 
strength, and alert watchfulness. It was a life 
of constant adventure and excitement. 

Terah, while his occupation made it necessary 



THE BEAUTIFUL GIRL — SARAH. 53 

that he should be upon the plains, may have 
sought the vicinity of Ur in order to be rela- 
tively safe from these marauders, who would be 
likely to be most bold and aggressive in the 
more remote districts. There may have been 
another reason also for having settled so close 
to the walls. He is reputed to have been a 
maker and vender of idols, and in that case 
would wish to be near the city, where he could 
dispose of his wares. 

This unsettled condition, the constant hazards 
of their existence, the law that might made 
right, the worship of idols, the practice of 
heathen rites, — all tended to make these people 
much like children in many respects ; and like 
children, too, who are not brought up under 
the restraining and refining influences of cul- 
tivated and Christian homes. All the life of 
that day was characterized by cunning and 
deceit and lies. The children saw that their 
elders were always ready to tell an untruth to 
get themselves out of a difficulty, and they 
could scarcely have been expected to do other- 
wise themselves. The restless, uncertain con- 
ditions of their existence, the absence of courts 



54 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

and laws by which differences could be settled 
with due regard for the right, made this a nat- 
ural means of defence ; but it had its effect 
upon their characters, nevertheless. 

It was in the tents of such a family and 
amid such an environment that Sarah grew to 
womanhood. We should not, therefore, judge 
her too harshly when we find that, later in life, 
she was lacking in the truthfulness and straight- 
forwardness that we now so justly admire, and 
which is one of the greatest beauties of a young 
girl's character. She was an impulsive, affec- 
tionate, warm-hearted girl, and no doubt did 
the best that she knew, and lived a life that 
was upright, in accordance with the teaching 
that she had received. 

Woman, in that day and place, was queen in- 
side the tent or house. The men had their life 
out-of-doors, and could manage their herds and 
flocks to suit themselves ; they could rove about as 
they would, move their homes with every change 
of the seasons, and be as rough and boisterous 
as they desired when about their own affairs 
in their own places ; but when it came to the 
real home, inside the door of the house or the 



THE BEA UTIFUL GIRL — SABAH. 55 

flap of the tent, woman was queen. And so 
Sarah grew up with this in view, that there 
was to be a home sometime, somewhere, in which 
she would be mistress and queen, as she saw that 
her mother was in their own home. Purity 
was carefully guarded, and she was taught to 
have the highest respect for herself. Family 
life was held in the very greatest esteem, as 
it is a notable fact that it is among; the Jews 
everywhere, to this clay. The family was the 
basis of all society, and the household was 
bound together by the closest ties of affection 
and self-interest. Motherhood was esteemed the 
highest condition for woman, and the mother 
was always treated with the greatest reverence 
and respect. 

Already in that time the women had long 
dresses, that were flounced, embroidered, and 
striped. Great advance had been made in the 
weaving of textile fabrics, so that people could 
be clothed not only comfortably, but luxuriously, 
and we think of Sarah as being well dressed. 
She also wore rings and bracelets for ornament, 
as did the other girls and women. Sun-dials 
were in use, and it was no doubt bv this method 



56 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

of reckoning the passing of time that Sarah 
anxiously counted the hours when she waited 
the coming of Abraham. When he went to the 
tent to see her they would sit upon skins and 
cushions upon the ground, and not on chairs, 
which are one of our modern inventions. 

The weapons and tools in use in that region 
were then still made of stone ; but the house 
implements and ornaments were of metal. Some 
of what we are accustomed to call the comforts 
of life were theirs ; and Sarah had her birds and 
flowers, and other little home interests, just as 
all well brought-up girls have now. It was the 
province of every girl to learn to cook, as it 
still should be ; and this was part of the duty 
and training of Sarah. But their cooking was 
a less intricate affair than is ours. They lived 
much upon the abundant fruits, which included 
figs, olives, grapes, and palm-fruit. Bread was 
made of the grains of millet and sesame, and 
soup was made from lentils. Veal was a favor- 
ite among the meat dishes, and they also had 
abundant wild game. Honey was much prized, 
taking the place that sugar occupies with us. 
Thev had milk and butter for their tables, and 



THE BEAUTIFUL GIRL — SARAH. 57 

Sarah helped with the milking and butter-mak- 
ing ; for. from the earliest times, the care of the 
cows of the household was part of the duty of 
the daughters. 

Forests of palm flourished in that neighbor- 
hood ; and baskets, which were used for a great 
many domestic purposes, were made from the 
leaves and bark. No doubt Sarah understood 
this art, and became expert in it. 

Although she was a beauty and a favorite, her 
life was not an idle one. Each member of the 
family had some duties to perform. Among 
other things, Sarah helped to water the camels 
and the flocks. Often, in other parts of the coun- 
try, this had to be done by drawing water from 
wells, which, as you know, would be tedious and 
difficult labor ; but as Ur was on the river, Sarah 
and her friends had the easv task of watering 
the animals from the Euphrates. 

Sarah was ten years younger than Abraham, 
a difference sufficient to enable her to look up 
to him for guidance. Like him. she was reared 
in the worship of idols and of the moon : the 
moon was. indeed, the chief object of worship in 
Ur, the one in whose honor their greatest temple 



58 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

was built. The moon that young girls look upon 
now, when they stroll in the summer evenings, 
is the same that was worshipped by this beau- 
tiful Jewess and her manly young lover centu- 
ries ago. That Abraham was manly we may 
well believe, or he never would have won the 
fair and proud girl who was sought by so many. 
She was aware of the power of her beauty, 
and had a will of her own. But that her dis- 
position was good may be known from the fact 
that she was a laugher. Her merry laughter 
made glad the tents of their camp many and 
many a time. And above all things she had 
love. She was the girl who won the homage 
of the best and greatest youth then living in 
the world, one of the very noblest who ever 
lived. He loved her very dearly, and she kept 
her power over his heart through all her long 
life, until she died at the age of one hundred 
and twenty-seven years, and was buried with 
great mourning in the new land to which they 
had made their pilgrimage. Long after their 
marriage they went from Ur to Haran, thence 
to Canaan, to Egypt, and then back to Canaan, 
where she died and was buried. 



THE SLAVE GIBL — HAGAR. 59 

THE SLAVE GIRL: 

HAGAR 

The name Hagar means a stranger or so- 
journer. It is a pure Hebrew word, and it 
was probably applied to her of whom we are 
about to tell you after she had entered the 
family of Abraham. Hagar was by birth an 
Egyptian and a slave. She was given to Abra- 
ham by Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, at the 
time of the visit of the former to that land. 
As Pharaoh greatly admired Sarah, the wife of 
Abraham, it is probable that he gave Hagar to 
her as a handmaiden. Kings and great per- 
sonages were then accustomed to make presents 
of slaves to the friends whom they held in high 
regard ; and from the fact that she was thus 
given, we may suppose that Hagar was a very 
attractive and snood-looking girl, otherwise Pha- 
raoh would not have considered her a present 
worthy to be a great king's gift. 

So Hagar was a slave. In those days people 
thought nothing of making slaves of persons of 



60 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

their own race or nationality ; consequently, we 
need not be surprised to find an Egyptian en- 
slaved by Egyptians. Hagar was an Egyptian, 
and yet a slave in her own country and among 
her own people But we are to remember that 
there were two races of people in Egypt, the 
ruling class being really a race of conquerors, 
coming from another land. 

Our modern idea and experience of slavery 
have been the enslavement of an inferior and 
foreign race, but the ancients thought nothing 
of enslaving their own people. Probably Hagar 
was an hereditary slave, born in the house of 
Pharaoh, and employed there as a housemaid 
or house-servant from her childhood up. So she 
was accustomed to much magnificence, to the 
sight of Pharaoh's greatness, to living in his 
palaces, and to association with the fine ladies 
there. Yet the idea of her bondage was con- 
stantly borne in upon her ; for, no matter how 
kindly she was treated, she always realized that 
she was looked upon as an inferior, and that 
she was the property of another, to be given 
or sold away, or treated as her master pleased. 

Many of our young readers, perhaps, from 



THE SLAVE GIRL — HAGAR. 61 

having heard mainly of African slavery as it 
used to be in America, will be surprised to learn 
that slavery has been from the very earliest 
times and in all countries an almost universal 
practice. In fact, it is thought that, counting 
all the people who have ever lived, until recent 
times, the greater part of mankind has been en- 
slaved. There have been several ways in which 
enslavement has come about ; the chief of these 
has been by defeat in war, and the capture of 
prisoners, many of whom, especially the women 
and children, were subjected to this fate. 

Slavery was liable to be the portion of al- 
most any one in the old days, no matter what 
the estate to which he belonged. The invad- 
ing and victorious army even captured kings 
and princes, nobles and their wives and chil- 
dren, and carried them off into captivity. The 
same fate was very apt to overtake the oppres- 
sor in turn, when warring; with a stronger 
power, so that no one was absolutely secure. 
Many a king, prince, and nobleman have been 
dragged from home and high place and wealth, 
to spend the rest of his life in bondage. 

Besides these fortunes of war, there was the 



62 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

regular slave-trade, carried on constantly for the 
purpose of supplying the great with servants 
and laborers. Raids were made especially for 
this purpose ; and captains of ships, when in 
foreign ports, were always on the lookout for 
any persons whom they could seize, thrust into 
their vessels, and carry away and sell. It was 
the most profitable cargo they could possibly 
secure. Then, too, debtors and criminals in 
many countries forfeited their liberty, and were 
sold. Poor people, or those in distress, often 
voluntarily sold themselves. Parents frequently 
sold their children, sometimes for a term of 
years only, but often for life. There were also 
in some nations enslaved races, whose servitude 
became hereditary. By these various methods 
the number of slaves was multiplied. 

The chief purpose of slavery has always been 
that the powerful might make the weak work 
for them. It was based upon laziness, and dis- 
regard for the rights of others. It has always 
had a debasing influence upon masters as well 
as upon servants, making them idle and indo- 
lent, and changing even kindly men into petty 
tyrants. 



THE SLAVE GIRL — HAGAR. 63 

Although slavery is to be condemned, the lot 
of the slave has not always been in all respects 
a hard one. In Greece the principal slaves 
often enjoyed the confidence of their masters, 
and had important duties intrusted to them. 
When they had served long and well they were 
given a home for themselves. In Athens there 
were more slaves than citizens, and a slave was 
permitted to purchase his freedom ; they were, 
also, often freed voluntarily by their masters. 

Aristotle and the Greeks generally looked 
upon slavery as natural and right, and regarded 
the slaves only as " animated tools," as indeed 
did most of the ancient nations. The Pyramids 
of Egypt and the Great Wall of China are mon- 
uments of slave labor, as well as the classic 
remains at Athens and Rome, so far as the 
hewing of stone and making and placing of 
bricks are concerned. So generally was slavery 
regarded as being a natural state for a portion 
of mankind, that, among all the ancient nations, 
people of the same race were held by their 
own, — Greeks by Greeks, Egyptians by Egyp- 
tians, etc. 

The favorite slaves were usually Asiatics, on 



64 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

account of their mild dispositions. The great 
muscular development and the power of endur- 
ance of the negro in hot and moist climates 
have made the African from the remotest times 
suitable material for the slave-markets. "For 
thousands of years an incessant stream of black 
blood has been directed from the interior to the 
East Coast, and thence to Madagascar, Persia, 
Arabia, and India, or down the Nile to Egypt 
and Asia Minor, or across the Sahara to the 
Barbary States. Since the discovery of America, 
hundreds of thousands have in the same way 
been shipped from the West Coast for the West 
Indies, New Spain, the British and French plan- 
tations, and Brazil." The black faces look out 
at us from all countries in ancient history, and 
from many in modern. 

The Phoenicians were great slave-dealers. So 
were the Philistines ; the great city of the 
latter, Gaza, was a slave emporium. Slavery is 
now recognized in Arabia, and has been from 
ancient times ; and the slave-trade now carried 
on in Africa is mainly in the hands of the 
Arabs. The negroes in Africa capture and 
enslave each other. In Laos and in Siam, slave- 



THE SLAVE GIRL — HAGAR. fib 

hunting is recognized by the authorities. The 
mandarins there organize expeditions against 
the wild tribes whenever they choose. 

In Shiraz, Persia, a good Abyssinian girl of 
twelve or fourteen years is worth now two 
hundred dollars ; while a good Somali (blacker) 
will bring only half as much ; and a Bombassi 
(coal-black), from the interior, will sell for about 
seventy dollars. In old times, in Ireland and 
Scotland, a female slave was worth three cows. 
In Badakhshan, in Central Asia, a strong man 
is considered a fair exchange for a large dog 
or a good horse, and a fine girl is worth about 
four horses. 

In a.d. 814 nine-tenths of the population of 
France were slaves, and slavery was common 
throughout Europe then, and until a much 
later date. 

With the spread of Christianity the condition 
of slaves began to be improved. As its prin- 
ciples have come to be more and more obeyed, 
the slave-trade has been abolished in the civi- 
lized world, and slavery itself has almost ceased 
to exist within the same limits. In uncivilized 
and semi-civilized countries, however, it is as 



<66 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

general as ever. But the African slave-trade 
is outlawed by the civilized nations, and Brit- 
ish war-ships constantly guard the coasts ; the 
Arabs, however, continue to carry on the trade 
in the interior, and get as many slaves over 
into Asia as they can. 

In Arabia the condition of slaves is compara- 
tively happy. There is no prejudice against 
them on account of color. In Persia they are 
treated almost like members of the family. 

Such are some of the facts in regard to this 
great evil whereby certain people become the 
property of a master as absolutely as ' does a 
horse or an ox. We have given you these 
in order that you may understand something of 
the conditions of life under which Hagar was 
born and reared. In view of the prevalence of 
the practice, we cannot be surprised that Abra- 
ham, in that far-off time, when all the ancient 
civilizations believed slavery to be natural and 
right, held slaves as property. Neither are we 
to think it justified because he did so. We are 
only to look upon these Old Testament charac- 
ters as examples in the things that they did 
which were right. Their lives are recorded just 



THE SLAVE GIRL—HAGAB. 67 

as they were, for our benefit — both the good 
and the evil, that we might follow the one and 
avoid the other. 

With so kind and good a man as Abraham, 
Hagar, no doubt, found a just master, much 
better than Pharaoh had been. No doubt she 
had much happiness in her life. But as she 
grew older, a great event happened. Sarah, 
the wife of Abraham, had no child. She there- 
fore gave Hagar to him as a second and in- 
ferior wife. This custom was common among 
them, though revolting to our modern and 
more enlightened ideas. 

As the inferior wife of her master, Hagar 
became the mother of a son, to his great joy, 
for he had greatly longed for a child. This 
son, whom he called Ishmael, he desired should 
be his heir. But the Lord had other purposes. 

Hagar showed such joy and pride in her 
more exalted state, and in being a mother, that 
Sarah took offence and began to dislike her, 
considering her as a rival in the affections of 
Abraham. She treated Hagar so badly that 
the latter fled into the wilderness, but was 
commanded by an angel to return. 



68 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

When the boy had grown to be fifteen years 
of age, he showed some disrespect to Sarah ; 
and the latter induced Abraham, much against 
his own desires, to send Hagar and her son 
again into the wilderness. 

So Hagar went away with the lad, showing- 
great faith in God, of whom Abraham had 
taught her. She went trusting in God, who 
cared for her when man had deserted her. 

Ishmael became a hunter and warrior, and 
man of the wilderness, and the father of a 
great people, — the Arab and Bedouin tribes. 

So the slave girl, who all her life had been 
subject to masters, until she and her son went 
out together into the wild places, after all 
took a proud position in history as the ances- 
tress of a great race. 



THE HUNTER BOY — ESAU. 69 

THE HUNTER BOY: 

ESAU. 

The earliest food of man consisted of fruits 
and seeds, and roots which grew in the earth. 
In the garden of Eden, as you know, " grew 
every tree that was good for food ; " and, with 
such endless variety ready for the plucking, 
our first parents did not crave anything further. 
But, as soon as they were driven out from the 
garden, they fared less bountifully, and found 
that they must depend upon their own efforts 
for food. 

Not being able to secure such variety of fruits 
and grains, they began to look about for other 
sustenance, and found it in the flesh of animals. 
But as the beasts which roamed the earth had 
not yet been domesticated, their only method 
of procuring such food was to hunt and kill 
the wild creatures. Even after some of them 
were tamed, and kept in flocks and herds in the 
pastures whence they could be taken at need, 
men continued to capture wild animals where 



70 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

game was plentiful, for the sake of variety, and 
so that they would have to make less demand 
upon their flocks. In a great part of the world 
there have never been enough domesticated ani- 
mals to afford all the needed supply of meat, 
and some nations have no tamed animals at 
all that can be used for this purpose. 

Even where the supply is sufficient, most 
people prefer some wild game, for variety at 
least ; there is not a city in the most civilized 
lands where wild game cannot be bought in 
the markets, and in all such it is valued above 
the commoner meats. 

Some races subsist almost entirely by hunting, 
as did the Indians of America. The forests and 
the plains, the mountain and the valleys, grew 
their meat for them, with no trouble on their 
part but to go and kill it. Besides the food 
which they obtained in this manner, they had 
only such as nature furnished them, in the way 
of wild fruits, nuts, roots, and seeds. 

Primitive man was compelled to hunt, and 
the taste for hunting has never died out among 
his descendants. The passion for it takes many 
who can afford it from our own country as far 



THE HUNTER BOY — ESAU. 71 

as Africa and India for the purpose of killing 
big game ; and still larger numbers go to our 
Western plains and to the Rocky Mountains ; 
while the number of guns used when small 
game is in season, for the destruction of ducks, 
quail, and all manner of birds and animals, is 
almost incredible. There is hardly a household 
in which there is not a gun, and some boy or 
man who loves to shoot. The English aristo- 
crats have certain weeks in the year which 
they devote almost entirely to shooting, and so 
pleasant and important do they consider this that 
Parliament adjourns for the time. In America, 
from the president down through all the ranks 
and classes, there is delight in a gun. It is cer- 
tainly a chief ambition with most boys to grow 
up rapidly so that they can be allowed to shoot. 
Thus, while the necessity for hunting has 
passed away in most parts of the civilized world, 
the passion for it remains quite as strong as 
ever. Kings and princes from the earliest 
times have delighted in it. The monuments 
of the Egyptians, Assyrians, and Babylonians 
contain many representations of their hunting- 
scenes ; and even their furniture was thus orna- 



72 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

mented. It was always the custom with those 
peoples to put upon their monuments pictured 
representations of the sports, arts, and employ- 
ments which they held in the highest regard, 
and thus we know the importance which they 
attached to the chase. 

From this, you will see that when Esau 
chose the life of a hunter he only did that 
which a great many others have done, and 
what our ancestors in this country did to a 
large extent ; for, in the pioneer days, many 
Americans had to depend for meat on the deer, 
bears, turkeys, and other game they could shoot. 
There is a great fascination about such a life, 
and it was perfectly honest and honorable for 
Esau to choose it. 

From the very earliest times, men have used 
other animals that were fit for such service, to 
help hunt the game they wished to capture. 
The dog is the best known of all these hunt- 
ing animals, and is mainly used for that pur- 
pose. But the Egyptians and Assyrians have 
also used the lion ; and the cheetah, or hunt- 
ing leopard, has been employed from a remote 
period in Persia and other parts of the East. 



THE HUNTER BOY — ESAU. 73 

Even the wolf has sometimes been thus trained ; 
so has the hyena ; while eagles and falcons have 
been used for hunting birds, and the otter has 
been taught to capture fish. 

It is altogether likely that Esau used the 
dog. The weapons of his time were the arrow, 
the spear, and the dart ; traps, snares, and 
pitfalls were among the methods employed for 
capturing game. Esau, who gave his attention 
wholly to hunting, was familiar with and an 
expert in the use of all these, and we can im- 
agine him setting his nets for birds, his traps 
and snares for the smaller game, and digging 
pitfalls for the larger animals, such as the bear, 
the lion, and the wolf. 

Much of his time was spent in arranging 
these traps, and in paying daily visits to them to 
see what had been taken. He was an expert in 
the making of bows and arrows, spears, darts, 
and snares ; for, in those days, every man who 
pretended to be a hunter had to make his 
own weapons, from the flint arrow-head to the 
string of sinew, or thong, for his bow. Esau 
knew all about these things, as he had watched 
older hunters at this work from his childhood, 



74 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

and had learned the art in all its details. He 
had begun to hunt by going out to the fields 
with these older and wiser men, and from them 
he had learned all the ways of the game, until 
at last he was able to go alone, and to do all 
and more than they could. 

Many a time he had slept out under the sky 
alone, belated, far from home. Many a time he 
had come in with a deer across his shoulders, 
and had given a shout as he neared the tent of 
his father, who delighted in his venison. Noth- 
ing made Isaac more glad than the rough, 
strong voice of his hunter son, as he called on 
his approach, announcing that he came not 
empty-handed. 

Game has always been abundant in Palestine. 
So late as just before the beginning of the 
Christian era, Herod the Great killed forty 
head of boar, wild asses, and deer in one day. 
In the time of Esau all kinds of animals that 
belong to that region were to be found in great 
numbers. Savage beasts were there, as well as 
those good for food ; and Esau had to encounter 
the lion and the wolf while in search of his 
game. He had to be brave and keen and 



THE HUNTER BOY — ESAU. 75 

quick in order to preserve himself. His hunt- 
ing was no quail-shooting in a modern field. 
His expeditions took him into the very heart 
of the unbroken wilderness, where the beasts 
acknowledged no sovereignty of man. Many a 
night he was aroused from sleep by the howl- 
ing of wolves who had scented the blood of his 
venison, as it hung beside him in the camp. 
But he knew how to scatter these by a brand 
from his fire. Many a battle did he have 
with lions, whose skins he was fearless enough 
to demand for his own clothing. His dogs, too, 
carried the scars of many a battle with the 
bears, which were taken by Esau both for meat 
and for their splendid furry skins. 

The earliest rays of the morning usually saw 
this intrepid hunter starting from his tent, and 
with his dogs plunging into the trackless wilder- 
ness. How well acquainted was he with the 
ways of the game that he sought ! He knew 
every spring to which the beasts came to drink. 
He knew the print of each animal's foot, and 
the slightest disturbance of a blade of grass in- 
dicated to his sharp sight the kind of creature 
that had passed. He had that wonderful pa- 



76 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

tience which is the greatest characteristic of the 
real hunter, and would follow a trail for miles, 
or would creep so cautiously through grass or 
thickets that the keenest of its denizens would 
not hear him. He could shoot an arrow or 
throw a dart or spear as far and as accurately 
as any man. Woe to the creature on whose 
trail were Esau and his dogs ! Woe to it when 
the boy-hunter's arrow-string twanged and the 
arrow went whistling through the air ! for it 
went straight to its mark. 

This life in the wilderness and among the 
wild things developed Esau into a kind of wild 
thing himself. The close tents of his people 
almost suffocated him. He needed more space ; 
he loved the freedom of his manner of life ; he 
loved its dangers and excitements. With the 
untanned hide of a lion or bear as his dress, 
with his quiver full of arrows and darts, and 
his dogs running by his side, he was happy and 
ready for anything. The chase developed his 
senses until he could see and hear with almost 
preternatural quickness and keenness. Accus- 
tomed to the pains of hunger, at times, when 
he would go for hours upon the quest of game 



THE HUNTER BOY — ESAU. 77 

without pausing for food or rest, he began to 
feel that a full meal was more to be desired 
than a spiritual birthright. 

Yet he developed rugged virtues, as men are 
apt to when in close and constant contact with 
nature. He was quick to be angry, but ready 
to forgive ; so that he appears to advantage in 
his conduct toward Jacob at their meeting: Ions? 
after Jacob had cheated him out of his birth- 
right. 

His father seems to have had a personal prefer- 
ence for this rough son. even in addition to 
the natural one for him as his rightful heir. 
The breezy strength, ruggeclness. and courage of 
this daring hunter seem to have appealed to 
something in the father that awakened his ad- 
miration ; possibly because he was so unlike 
himself, the quiet and meditative Isaac. 

Like all real hunters, Esau knew how to 
cook what he had taken. While a man is not 
ordinarily expected to learn the mysteries of 
cookery, yet the hunter is an exception, so far 
as his own game is concerned ; for many a time 
he is dependent entirely upon himself, both to 
kill and prepare his food. Esau had this art ; 



78 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

and at the time when Jacob deceived their father 
with the flesh of a kid when he had asked for 
venison, Esau came in just as the meal was over 
with the savory meat which he had himself 
prepared. 

From Esau and his heathen wives are de- 
scended some of the modern peoples of the des- 
ert ; so even yet the wild characteristics of this 
hunter boy are perpetuated in the world, among 
people as untamable as was he 



THE PROSPEROUS BOY — JOSEPH. 79 

THE PROSPEROUS BOY: 

JOSEPH. 

Some of you may think, on first reading the 
title of this chapter, that Joseph had a very 
queer kind of prosperity. Hardships and pros- 
perity hardly seem to be the same thing to 
the mind of the average boy, and of course 
you all know that he had plenty of the former. 
But, in his case, the one led directly to the 
other, all his success and happiness and pros- 
perity being the result of that which he had 
first to endure. Thus the hardships of Joseph's 
earlier years should teach every boy not to be 
afraid of nor easily discouraged by reverses, 
but to go bravely ahead through all difficulties, 
confident that right doing, integrity, and indus- 
try will in the end bring their own reward. 

Joseph was the son of Rachel, the favorite 
wife of Jacob ; the one for whom he labored 
fourteen years, which seemed to him but a day 
because of his great love for her. Ten other 
sons and a daughter had come to Jacob before 



80 BIBLE BOYS AND GIBLS. 

the birth of Joseph, but none had been born 
to Rachel ; so at his birth there was extraor- 
dinary joy in the household, because his mother 
had despaired of ever having any children. 

The birth of Joseph took place, as that of 
each of the other children of Jacob had done, 
in the land of ; Padan-Aram. It was long after 
that when Benjamin came. Jacob had been sent 
to get a wife to that country from which Abram 
had first come. The wife of Isaac had also 
been brought from thence. They did not wish 
to marry with the heathen in their present 
place of residence in Canaan • so a servant had 
been sent to bring a wife for Isaac from among 
the people of their own kindred in the land 
that had been their original home. Jacob, 
instead of sending, as Isaac had done, went 
thither himself, and married, and remained there 
a long time, working for his father-in-law. 
During this period eleven sons had been born, 
and a daughter. After the birth of Joseph he 
decided to take his family and flocks and go 
into Canaan again. 

Thus one of the earliest experiences of Jo- 
seph's life was the long journey with the 



THE PROSPEROUS BOY — JOSEPH. 81 

caravan of his father's household. All the ser- 
vants of Jacob accompanied him, and they drove 
his flocks and cattle. The journey was slow 
and perhaps tedious, but it was not without 
interest. 

Each night the camp had to be made, food 
cooked, a spot selected where the cattle could 
be fed and watered, and guards posted to see 
that the animals did not stray away. On the 
route they would meet other caravans, and trav- 
ellers going in the opposite direction, and news 
would be exchanged, and sometimes they would 
trade and barter with each other. 

On their way, at Bethel, they met with a 
great misfortune; for here Rachel died. After 
her burial the caravan kept on its way, until 
it had come to Hebron, where Isaac lived. 
Here Jacob stopped, and began the making of 
his new home. He had not been here very 
long when Isaac died; but he remained, for 
there was no reason now why he should go 
elsewhere. 

So it happened that it was at Hebron that 
Joseph spent many of his early years, and here 
he learned the business of a shepherd. His 



82 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

father, Jacob, was very rich, with immense herds 
of cattle and flocks of sheep. The business of 
the shepherd or herder was to lead these to 
the places where the grass and water were 
abundant, and to watch over and protect them. 
The herds were divided into several parts, and 
the care of each part was intrusted to certain 
shepherds. Others of Jacob's children were also 
herders, and it fell to Joseph's lot to be with his 
half-brothers who were the children of the maids 
Bilhah and Zilpah. These men may have felt 
some sort of inferiority to Joseph, as he was 
the child of Jacob's legitimate wife, while they 
were the children of maid-servants. Probably 
the children of Leah, the other wife, would 
have treated him better, not having this cause 
for jealousy. But there was something else 
besides this. Jacob had expressed in his actions 
and words a decided partiality for Joseph, be- 
cause he was the son of Rachel, and because 
he was the child of his old age. It is written 
that Jacob loved Joseph more than all his chil- 
dren. Parental partiality is always a dangerous 
thing, and, through this, Joseph was brought 
into a great deal of trouble. 



THE PROSPEROUS BOY —JOSEPH. 83 

One expression of his father's special affec- 
tion was the giving to him of a coat of many 
colors. The others were dressed simply in the 
common shepherd's coat, which was a very plain 
garment, reaching to the knees only, and made 
without sleeves. It was of a coarse material, 
and was intended only for use, and not for 
ornament. Joseph's coat differed from these in 
that it reached to his ankles, and had sleeves 
that came to the wrists. It was probably also 
of fine linen, and was highly colored, thus, as 
you may see, being in great contrast to the 
others. It is still an Oriental custom to dress 
the favorite children in this way, and Jacob in 
thus showing his favor was not doing a very 
unusual thing. Still, this coat gave Joseph's 
brethren another cause of jealousy, just as to- 
day, indeed, it is not an uncommon thing for 
fine clothes to excite envy. 

So when the brethren saw so plainly that 
their father loved Joseph most, they hated the 
boy, and treated him badly, finding fault and 
quarrelling on all occasions. Probably they made 
it very unpleasant for the Jad ; but Joseph only 
deepened their hatred by unwisely reporting to 



84 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

his father the evil conduct of his brethren. We 
do not know what these reports were, nor what 
the misdeeds of which the others were guilt}^ ; 
but on general principles tale-bearing is a poor 
business, and we would counsel you all to be 
very careful in reporting other people's matters. 
Joseph undoubtedly made things worse for him- 
self by this ; it would seem as if, he were to 
blame in this respect, and that he thus gave his 
brothers real cause for anger against him ; but, 
of course, they were very wrong in their method 
of avenging themselves. 

As if there were not already cause enough 
for trouble between them, another thing came 
up which newly kindled their anger. Joseph 
had a dream, which he unwisely told them. He 
dreamed that he and they were binding sheaves 
of grain in the field, when, suddenly, his sheaf 
arose and stood upright, and the other sheaves 
stood about and made obeisance to his sheaf. 

The meaning of this was plain enough ; but 
he had also another dream, which he told, and 
which excited them still more. This was that 
the sun and the moon and eleven stars made 
obeisance to him. This was interpreted that 



THE PROSPEROUS BOY — JOSEPH. So 

his father and mother and brethren should bow 
down before him. Even his father was vexed 
by this dream, as well as his brethren, and he 
said, " Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren 
indeed come to bow ourselves to thee to the 
earth ? " 

Shortly after this the flocks were taken to 
Shechem, where apparently the pastures were 
better. Joseph had for some reason not gone 
with his brothers at first. After a while Jacob 
wished to learn how thev were getting; on, and 
sent Joseph to bring him word. So he went 
out of the vale of Hebron to Shechem, where he 
supposed they were ; but not being able to find 
them, he inquired of a man whom he met and 
was told that they had gone on to Dothan. So 
Joseph followed them until he came to that 
place. 

His brethren saw him approaching ; and think- 
ing perhaps that he had come to spy upon them, 
and disliking him so heartily, they made a con- 
spiracy to kill him. They planned to slay him, 
and throw him into a pit, and then report to 
their father that a beast had devoured him. 

There was one among them, however, Reuben, 



86 BIBLE BOYS AND GIBLS. 

who was shocked at this cold-blooded murder 
that was proposed, and suggested instead that 
they should lower him into a pit ; his plan be- 
ing that, later, he would rescue him, and return 
him to his father. 

This suggestion was adopted ; and when Joseph 
approached they took off his fine coat, that had 
made so much trouble, and lowered him into 
a pit. This pit, no doubt, was an old cistern 
that had been dug by the Canaanites. There 
were many of these all about, and when they 
were empty of water it was no uncommon 
thing for them to be used as prisons. They 
were of a bottle shape, and it was impossible 
for a person once in them to climb out un- 
aided. 

After they had disposed of the boy in this 
way, his brethren sat down to eat ; while they 
were thus engaged a caravan of merchants was 
seen approaching. They were Midianites, who 
had come from Gilead ; they were bound for 
Egypt, whither they were carrying their camels, 
spices, balm, and myrrh. The sight of these 
merchants put an idea into the mind of another 
of the brothers, Judah, who, like Eeuben. prob- 



THE PBOSPEBOUS BOY — JOSEPH. 8? 

ably had some compunctions about making way 
with Joseph, and did not wish to let him die in 
the pit ; so he suggested that he be sold as a 
slave. In this manner they would be able to 
rid themselves of him finally, and would ac- 
complish it without shedding blood. 

This idea appealed to all, and they went to 
the pit and drew Joseph out and sold him as 
a slave. Reuben was away while this was 
taking place ; and when he returned to carry 
out his kind plan about taking Joseph back to 
his father, he was horrified to find him missing. 

The others, having disposed of Joseph, then 
killed a kid, and dipping the coat in its blood 
made up a story that they had found the gar- 
ment thus bloody, and inferred that Joseph had 
been killed by a wild beast. When the garment 
was shown to Jacob he was plunged into the 
deepest grief ; but his hard-hearted sons now 
did not dare tell the truth, even if they had 
finally been disposed to do so, and left the 
poor old man to believe that his favorite boy 
was indeed dead. 

Meanwhile the caravan _ proceeded on its way 
to Egypt. This journey was in some respects 



88 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

a repetition of that which Joseph had experi- 
enced in his early youth, but with the difference 
that he was now the slave of the merchants, 
instead of being the favorite son of the master. 
Yet he was no doubt treated kindly, as he was 
not purchased to labor for them, but to be sold 
when they should reach Egypt. And as his 
appearance then would have much to do with 
the price that would be obtained, it was their 
interest to take good care of him. 

When the caravan arrived in Egypt the 
spices were disposed of for embalming purposes. 
The embalming of the dead was a matter to 
which the ancient Egyptians gave a great deal 
of attention, and upon which they expended a 
great deal of money. It is not at all improb- 
able that some of the mummies that have been 
exhumed in recent times, and in whose cere- 
cloths the odor of spices can still be distin- 
guished, were embalmed with the myrrh and 
the balm that this very caravan brought. 

At the same time that these things were be- 
ing disposed of, Joseph was put up for sale in 
the market-place. Syrian slaves were especially 
prized by those of wealth and position ; so we 



THE PROSPEROUS BOY — JOSEPH. 89 

have no doubt that Potiphar, who bought him. 
was compelled to pay a good price. The mer- 
chants had given the brothers twenty pieces of 
silver, which was then, as it is now, four thou- 
sand years later, in Syria, the price for a fine, 
strong young slave. This unchanging value 
of such a commodity is characteristic of the 
East, where customs and manners continue the 
same, century after century, and where many 
things are to be witnessed now just as they 
were in the days of which we are telling you. 
Potiphar, into whose hands Joseph had now 
fallen, was an officer of Pharaoh the King, and 
was a captain of his guard. He was one of the 
great men of the country ; so that Joseph, 
though a slave, had now the opportunity to 
witness the life and habits of the leading per- 
sonages in the great city of Memphis. The 
Syrian slaves were especial favorites, and were 
appointed to the preferred places in the service 
of their masters. Among Joseph's duties at 
first was probably that of running before the 
chariot of Potiphar. to announce the coming of 
his master, and to clear -the way for his pas- 
sage. Later, he so won his confidence that he 



90 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

was made overseer of his house and all that 
he had. His position was now about the same 
as that of a steward of a great estate. He 
had charge of the property of his master, the 
collection and disbursement of his moneys, and 
kept the accounts ; so complete was his control 
of these affairs that Potiphar did not even 
know what he possessed, but left it all to this 
young slave. 

Joseph must have had unusual ability to 
secure such confidence and such a position for 
himself. Possibly his fine appearance aided him 
in this, for it is recorded that his manner and 
bearing were most favorable. But this, like the 
favoritism of his father, was one of the things 
that resulted in trouble for him. The wife of 
Potiphar was a bad woman, and she endeavored 
to prevail upon Joseph to commit a great wrong ; 
when he refused, she reported to her husband, 
in her anger, that Joseph had been the aggres- 
sor, and Potiphar, being greatly enraged, cast 
Joseph into prison. 

His jailer, however, soon came to believe in 
Joseph's innocence ; he was very kind to him, 
and did what he could to make his misfortune 



THE PROSPEROUS BOY— JOSEPH. 91 

easier to bear. It was no uncommon thing for 
servants who had stood in the highest regard 
to fall under the displeasure of their masters ; 
and when they did so they were at once im- 
prisoned, if no worse fate befell them. At this 
time the king's cup-bearer and the chief of the 
bakers had fallen under the king's displeas- 
ure, and they had been put into the same part 
of the prison with Joseph. The jailer, having 
great confidence in the latter, put these two 
prisoners under his charge. While they were 
there each had a dream, which he related to 
Joseph. The dream of the cup-bearer was as 
follows : He had seen a vine, with three 
branches, which budded and bore fruit ; and he 
had taken Pharaoh's cup and pressed the juice 
of the grapes into the cup, and had given it 
to Pharaoh. 

Joseph interpreted this to mean that in three 
days the cup-bearer should be restored to the 
favor of the king, and to his position. 

The baker then told his dream : he had three 
white baskets on his head, and in the one on 
top he had bake-meats for Pharaoh, and the 
birds ate them out of the basket. 



92 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

This was interpreted to mean that in three 
days the baker should be hanged, and that the 
birds should eat his flesh. Both these dreams 
were fulfilled on the third day, as Joseph had 
foretold. 

Joseph had asked the cup-bearer, who was 
restored to his place, that, when he was again 
in power, he should remember the one who had 
brought him good news by interpreting his 
dream. The man promised that he would ; but, 
like many another kindness, this was forgotten 
for a long time. So Joseph was kept in prison 
for two years longer. 

At the end of that time the king himself 
had a dream which greatly disturbed him, and 
no one could be found to interpret it. Then 
the cup-bearer recalled his experience with Jo- 
seph, and suggested that he be called upon as 
interpreter. 

The dream of Pharaoh was that there came 
up out of the Nile seven fat cows, and fed 
in the meadow ; and after them came the seven 
lean cows, and the lean cows ate those which 
were fat. He again dreamed of seven large 
and good ears of wheat, that grew on one 



THE PROSPEROUS BOY — JOSEPH. 93 

stalk ; and, after them, seven blasted ears came 
up. And the seven thin ears devoured the 
seven good ones. 

Then Joseph was called to come before the 
king ; the young man shaved himself, and put 
on good raiment, and came in. The king told 
his dreams, and Joseph gave him the interpre- 
tation. This was, that there were to be seven 
years of abundant harvests, and that they were 
to be succeeded by seven years of famine, during 
which time all that had been produced during 
the abundant years, the crops of grain, and the 
increase of the flocks and herds, would be con- 
sumed. He advised that the king begin at 
once to take precautions against the famine, 
by selecting some man whose duty it should be 
to store up great quantities of food during the 
coming years of plenty, against the time of the 
famine which should follow. 

For this great work Pharaoh chose Joseph 
himself. He thus at a bound became the great- 
est man in the kingdom, after the monarch. 
The whole future prosperity of the nation de- 
pended upon the wisdom with which he should 
discharge the duties intrusted to him. But he 



94 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

was found worthy and capable, and carried out 
his plans so successfully that he saved the lives 
of thousands of the people who would otherwise 
have perished miserably from starvation, and 
greatly increased the power of the king by his 
caution and wisdom. 

We have thus traced the story of Joseph up 
to his attainment of great power and high posi- 
tion in Egypt, the land to which he came as a 
poor slave, to be sold in the public market. 

During those terrible years of famine his own 
brothers came down from Canaan into Egypt 
to buy grain ; and after holding them at arm's 
length for a time, Joseph at last made him- 
self known to them, forgave the great wrongs 
they had done him, sent for his father, and 
settled the whole family in the land of Goshen, 
which was one of the most fertile parts of the 
country. 



THE PRINCELY BOY — MOSES. 96 



THE PRINCELY BOY: 

MOSES. 

The scene of this story is also in Egypt, the 
country that disputes with Babylonia as to which 
civilization is the elder. Its ancient capital was 
Memphis, on the great river Nile. It occupied 
nearly the site of the present city of Cairo, one 
of the most picturesque cities of the world. 

Memphis was a magnificent town. It was 
built by the first Egyptian king, or pharaoh. 
Menes, on the left or western bank of the 
Nile. Grouped there were many things to 
attract the eye. monuments to the art and 
resources of the builder, — temple, tower, palace, 
obelisk, colossus, wall, and gateway. 

The greatest of all these was the temple of 
Phthah, which consisted of a grand central edifice 
surrounded by pillared courts, adorned by colos- 
sal statues, by pictured representations of the 
great deeds of kings, by sphinxes, and by obe- 
lisks and tablets with inscriptions. 



96 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

This temple stood in the centre of the town. 
Though begun by King Menes, it was so vast in 
design that it was the work of many kings and 
many ages before fully completed. To the north 
was the great portal erected by Moeris ; in front, 
the colossi by Sesostris. All about were the white 
arms of colonnaded courts, the work of various 
pharaohs. 

Numerous temples to other gods were also in 
the city ; and on its western edge, washed on 
one side by the river, was the " White Citadel," 
an immense fortress girt with a lofty rampart 
of yellow limestone from the neighboring desert. 

Opposite Memphis was the Necropolis ; north 
and south for twenty miles stretched this City 
of the Dead. In it were sixty pyramids, of 
which the three now known as the Pyramids 
of Gizeh, or El-Geezeh, are the greatest works 
done by the hand of man in any age. 

It was under the shadow of these three great 
pyramids that Moses was reared. 

Three hundred and fifty years before the 
time of Moses, as Joseph's story has already 
told you, Jacob, with his sons, their families 
and servants, had left their land of Canaan 



THE PRINCELY BOY — MOSES. 97 

by invitation of Pharaoh, on account of his 
kindness to Joseph, and had gone to settle in 
Egypt. For about seventy years thereafter, and 
while under the protection of Joseph, they were 
prosperous. For the next two hundred and fifty 
years they were afflicted, but not severely. The 
last century was made bitter by oppression. 

They were made slaves by Seti the First, 
who was a great builder of store-cities, maga- 
zine-cities, and other immense edifices, and who 
needed vast supplies of bricks for these works. 
He took the Israelites from the fields, where 
they .tended their herds of cattle and flocks of 
sheep, and compelled them to work in the brick- 
yards for him. They were made to dig the 
clay, to mix and knead it with their hands 
and feet, and to shape it in proper form by 
moulds. The labor was very hard, as the bricks 
were heavy, being of much greater size than 
those we now use. The sun was hot ; and they 
had to work under the rod, being continually 
driven by a taskmaster. There was an object 
in thus compelling them to endure such hard- 
ship ; it was to break down this people and so 
get rid of them. The Egyptians were afraid of 



98 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

the Israelites, because they were becoming too 
numerous, and feared they might gain the as- 
cendency in Egypt. At that time the Israelites 
numbered about two million people. Besides 
endeavoring to destroy them by overwork, the 
mid wives were ordered to kill all the male 
children of the Israelites by drowning them in 
the Nile. It was while this edict was in force 
that Moses was born. 

The father of Moses was Amram, of the 
tribe of Levi; his mother was named Jochebed. 
They were people in humble circumstances, and 
lived in or near the capital where the court re- 
sided. Besides the parents the family consisted of 
Miriam and Aaron. The latter was three years 
older than Moses, and was born before the 
decree regarding the destruction of the Hebrew 
children was put into effect. 

The baby Moses is described as " exceeding 
fair," and perhaps it was because he was such 
a beautiful child that his mother determined 
to take extra precautions to save him from the 
cruel order of the king. He was kept care- 
fully hidden for three months ; and when his 
existence could be concealed no longer, Jochebed 



THE PRINCELY BOY — MOSES. 99 

took him down to the place in the sacred 
river where she knew the daughter of the king 
was in the habit of coming to bathe. 

The palace of the king's daughter was near 
the river's edge, and a stairway of stone led 
down to the very bank. Jochebed was not only 
familiar with the place, and knew that the prin- 
cess came down these steps every day to get 
to the river, but she was also acquainted with 
her character, and knew that she was married, 
childless, and very anxious for children. In her 
desperation, and knowing that by her own effort 
she could no longer protect him, the mother de- 
termined to place her babe in the way of the 
princess, in the hope that he might attract her 
attention, and that she might interest herself 
for his preservation from the dangers that 
threatened him. Otherwise she saw no chance 
for his life. 

Accordingly she made an ark of bulrushes, 
which were the reeds of the papyrus plant, and 
having made it waterproof by means of bitu- 
men, she placed the child in it, and hid the craft 
with its precious burden among the flags on 
the brink of the Nile, just where it would be 



100 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

in the path of the princess as she came down 
to the water. 

The boy's sister, Miriam, was set to watch 
that no harm might befall the child until the 
arrival of the one for whose eye he was in- 
tended. The plan was successful. When Ther- 
muthis, the princess, came, and found the babe 
asleep, she at once recognized him as one of the 
Hebrew children, and took pity on him. Miriam, 
being satisfied from what she saw that no harm 
would be done the child by this woman, went 
up to her and proposed to find and bring a 
nurse for him, and when the princess said that 
she might do so, ran off for his own mother. 
Thus Jochebed was installed in the household 
with her child, and received wages for his care. 
Henceforth during his youth Moses was under 
the patronage of the princess, and was reared 
as her own son. 

In the palace of the princess he was treated 
as were other Egyptian children of rank, and 
taught to conform to their habits and customs. 
He went about, as did other children, without 
clothing, for it was a very warm country. His 
hair was shaved off, excepting a single lock on 



THE PRINCELY BOY — MOSES. 101 

one side of his head. He was waited on by 
many servants, carefully fed, kept very clean, 
and taught refined manners, thus faring much 
better than if he had remained in the home of 
his own parents. 

From the terraces of the palace Moses could 
see the great city, with its magnificent architec- 
ture, its multitudes, its trade and commerce. 
He could look upon the noisy crowd, the mighty 
river, the bright painted sails of the vessels 
plying thereon, and could see the vessels loading 
and unloading at the wharves. He could see 
the sacred arks, lifted on high, carried on their 
way to the temple. He could hear music com- 
ing up from the temples, the shouts of chariot 
drivers in the streets, and the cries of the many 
venders of wares, and of the river boatmen. 

As he grew older he became more intimately 
acquainted with the city ; he rode about in the 
wheeled vehicles, and was taken on the river 
in the boats. At the temple of Phthah he was 
shown the mysterious hieroglyphics, and saw 
the image of the god ; the processions of the 
priests passed him, chanting the litanies to 
Phthah or Ra ; he saw the sacrifices and heard 



102 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

the prayers, saw libations poured out to the 
images, and smelled the burning incense. He saw 
the sacred bull, Apis, led in festive procession 
through the main streets, the people making 
obeisance before it. All these and more did the 
boy Moses see in the religious festivals and pro- 
cessions of the city where his youth was spent. 

While living in the palace, he yet kept up 
connection with his own family. He knew that 
he was a Hebrew ; he saw his relatives, visited 
and received visits from them. So he was 
partly under the influence of the Princess Ther- 
muthis and partly under that of his own family 
and people. The influence of his family kept 
him from the worship of the Egyptian gods, 
and impressed on him the patriarchal religion. 

While he was yet very young the princess 
took him to her father to show him the ex- 
ceeding beauty of the child. She put him into 
the arms of the king, and told her father of 
her hopes for his succession to the throne. The 
king took off his crown, and placed it on the 
head of the child ; but Moses lifted the crown 
from the place where the king had set it, and 
putting it upon the ground, tried to stand on 



THE PRINCELY BOY — MOSES. 103 

it. A certain scribe had prophesied that a He- 
brew child would destroy the power of Egypt ; 
and being now present, and seeing Moses do 
this, he considered it a sign of the fulfilment 
of the prophecy, and cried out, " This is the 
child. Slay him." But the princess succeeded 
in carrying him safely away. 

All who saw him were struck with his love- 
liness. As he passed along the streets people 
stopped to look at him. He was remarkably 
tall for his years, spirited, strong, and capable 
of great endurance. His intelligence was ex- 
traordinary ; so much so that the Egyptians 
regarded him with suspicion and fear. 

Among the Egyptians attention was given to 
the careful education of both mind and body. 
To this latter end they had a great variety of 
games, and practised many athletic and gym- 
nastic exercises. One of the chief of these was 
wrestling, of which they were very fond, and 
in which their young men became very expert. 
As showing the high esteem in which this sport 
was held, we see that their monuments show 
wrestlers in all attitudes. - 

Fighting with single-sticks was also a favorite 



104 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

exercise ; and games of toss-ball were played by 
all, both old and young, and men and women. 
Lifting heavy bags of sand, and swinging them 
over the head and at arm's length, as we use 
Indian clubs, was also common, as likewise the 
practice of throwing knives so as to stick in 
blocks of hard wood at some distance. But they 
had no tennis, nor hockey, nor many other of 
the games that boys nowadays play. 

Moses had also to learn to read and write. 
Among the Egyptians this was very difficult, as 
their method was the hieroglyphic, or picture- 
writing, in which a thousand signs were em- 
ployed. To become proficient in this required 
the ability to draw large numbers of objects 
rapidly and accurately. A bird or beast of a 
certain kind had a definite meaning in this 
picture-language ; for instance, an eagle repre- 
sented the letter A, and an owl the letter M. 
Rather more difficult than our method, as you 
will find if you try to draw a few pictures of 
birds or animals instead of writing the simple 
letters that you are so accustomed to. 

Hieratic writing was a sort of running hier- 
oglyphs, in which the signs were blended, and 



THE PRINCEL Y BOY — MOSES. 105 

there were as many of these as of the others. 
Not until six or seven centuries B.C. was there 
any modification of this manner of writing. 
Then demotic writing, which was a simplifica- 
tion of the hieroglyphs, was introduced, and 
education became somewhat easier for the little 
Egyptians. All higher-class Egyptians in the 
time of Moses were also taught a Semitic lan- 
guage, which in itself was sufficiently difficult. 

Perhaps some of our readers know that the 
North-American Indians, of many different tribes, 
used a sign of picture-writing language, although 
it was of a very simple and limited sort. But 
do they also know that away in the extreme 
south-west of Arizona, out in the desert, far 
from railroads and civilization, are some great 
pictured rocks on which are to be seen hiero- 
glyphs very similar to those used by the Egyp- 
tians ? They were there long before Cortez 
and his brave followers marched across the 
land. 

Moses also had to learn arithmetic. The 
Egyptians invented the signs we call Arabic, 
which are our numerals, 1,2, 3, 4, etc. Our mul- 
tiplication table, probably, was also originated 



106 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

by them. They taught vocal and instrumental 
music, harmony, and rhythm ; and the impor- 
tance in which music was held among them 
is shown by their monuments, upon which the 
harp, lyre, flute, double pipe, guitar, and tam- 
bourine are sculptured, — bands of five to eight 
musicians are represented, playing together. 
Israel had musical instruments ; and you will 
remember that, when the Jews were wandering 
in the desert, they sang the " Song of Moses," 
with a timbrel accompaniment. 

In order to give Moses the most complete 
education possible, he was first put under pri- 
vate tutors ; later he was sent to the univer- 
sity. At this time there were two great schools 
in Egypt; one was at Heliopolis, the other at 
Hermopolis. Moses went to the former, which 
was twenty miles from Memphis. It was a 
famous seat of learning ; here also stood the 
great temple of the Sun, of which some of the 
brick walls still remain. 

This temple and its surroundings made a 
magnificent appearance. An avenue of sphinxes 
led up to the great gateway. Red and blue 
streamers fluttered from the tall flagstafls. Near 



THE PRINCELY BOY — MOSES. 107 

the gateway the obelisks known as " The Petri- 
factions of the Sunbeam " stood, two by two. 

These had been quarried at a great distance ; 
brought to Heliopolis, and there set up by the 
aid of mechanical appliances which can now be 
only guessed at. 

To-day only one of these obelisks remains in its 
original locality. The one which stands in Cen- 
tral Park, New York, was brought to America 
from Alexandria. But it was originally at He- 
liopolis; so that some of our young readers 
have no doubt looked on an obelisk that stood 
in that wonderful old city when Moses was a 
student at the university, and upon which he 
often gazed. 

Over the portal of this splendid temple was 
set the figure of the sun-god. He was a hawk- 
headed monster, calculated to inspire fear rather 
than veneration. Within the temple were kept 
the black bull Mnevis, a lion and lioness, a 
cat and a crane, all of which were objects of 
worship. Near to the temple stood the spa- 
cious mansions of the priests, and of the pro- 
fessors of the school. 

At the university where Moses studied were 



108 BIBLE BOYS AND GIBLS. 

taught geometry, which originated in Egypt, 
and trigonometry, literature, poetry, astronomy, 
law, medicine, and the " philosophy of sym- 
bols." Masterpieces of literature were studied 
for the formation of a correct style of expression. 

The Egyptians were advanced in many things. 
They knew that the moon received its light 
from the sun ; that the sun was the centre of 
the system ; and that the earth, turning upon 
its axis, made day and night. They had knowl- 
edge of medicine, of anatomy, and dissection. 
Religion was studied at the universities in the 
sacred books, and the students were taught that 
all their ceremonies were symbols of deepest 
and hidden meaning. 

After this university life was over, Moses re- 
turned to court. He chose the life of a soldier. 
In the great war with Ethiopia he commanded 
the Egyptian army, and led them to victory. 
He remained a soldier from the age of twenty 
until he was forty, when he fled to Midian. 
The cause of his flight to Midian was that he 
had slain an Egyptian whom he saw maltreat- 
ing one of his Hebrew brethren. The exile 
remained in Midian forty years, when the Lord 



THE PRINCELY BOY — MOSES. 109 

sent him back to Egypt to lead the Israelites 
out from bondage. 

After great difficulties he succeeded in ac- 
complishing this task; then he conducted them 
for forty years through the wilderness, and at 
last came within sight of the promised land. 
From the mountain called Pisgah he was per- 
mitted to have a view of that land, but he 
was not allowed to enter it. 

Upon that mountain this great man died, and 
there his tomb was made. 



110 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 



THE SISTERLY GIRL: 

MIRIAM. 

Miriam is one of the strongest and most 
capable characters of sacred history. She was 
the sister of Moses, and probably about ten 
years older than he. It was almost immediately 
after the birth of her brother that she showed 
remarkable wisdom and common-sense, in secur- 
ing as she did the employment of their own 
mother as nurse for the boy when he was taken 
into the household of the Egyptian princess. 
So, while her brother became much more famous, 
as one who had a high destiny to perform, we 
must not overlook the agency of this young 
girl, then a mere child, in thus securing his 
welfare. We are not told in all the Bible 
of any other girl of like years who performed 
deeds so worthy of having a place in history. 

Miriam, in common with all the Israelites 
of her time, was born a slave ; and slavery 
then meant, as it always has, many dreadful 



THE SISTERLY GIRL — MIRIAM 111 

and terrible tilings. Imagine, if you can. the 
horror it must be for a sensitive, intelligent 
person to belong to another ; to be held as a 
lifelong servant. neA^er able to mark out his own 
life and follow it. but to be constantly at the 
bidding of another. This means not to be an in- 
dividual, but a thing, a piece of property ; some- 
thing to be bought and sold : to be ordered here 
and there ; to do this and that at the will of 
some unfeeling master or mistress ; to be punished 
for the most trivial .offences ; to have no rights ; 
to have no will ; to be tossed about like a ball. 
A slave ! The very thought of it is fear- 
ful : and it becomes more fearful according 
to the degree of mental force which the un- 
fortunate one has with which to realize his 
condition, and compare his state with that of 
a freeman. No doubt there have been many 
dull, stupid persons who have been slaves, and 
who have been perfectly contented with their 
condition because they had not mind enough to 
comprehend or desire anything better ; having 
no idea of better things, they took their condi- 
tion of servitude as a matter of course, as a 
natural thing. But with thinking, intelligent. 



112 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

superior individuals, slavery has been an iron 
that entered into the very soul. 

For such a proud, sensitive, highly organized 
girl as Miriam must lmve been, her condition 
and that of her people was a very terrible 
thing. She was a person of lofty spirit, cap- 
able of great enthusiasms, of great thoughts, 
and of great deeds. She was familiar with the 
history of her own race, and knew that they had 
not always been in bondage, but that they had 
once been free and rich and great. She knew 
why they had come to Egypt in Joseph's time, 
and how he, one of her own race, had been 
prime minister in this land where they were 
now held in bondage. She knew how, after 
Joseph's time, the kings who arose had enslaved 
the free, proud race of the Hebrews, and for 
ages had kept them in subjection. All this 
knowledge made her feel their present wrongs 
even more bitterly ; for she could not help con- 
trasting their present with their past. She was 
also aware of the promise of deliverance from 
bondage : and this hope inspired her heart with 
a still deeper discontent with her lot, and her 
dreams were all of the deliverance of her people. 



THE SISTERLY GIRL — MIRIAM. 113 

Meanwhile she pursued her common round of 
duties. But while about the household tasks, 
high thoughts were beating in her heart ; she 
looked with resentment upon the wrongs of 
her race, but could as yet see her way to do 
nothing. She had to learn the hard task of 
waiting for the accomplishment of her desires, 
for the achieving of her rights and those of her 
family and neighbors. Had she known how 
near she was to the consummation of her hopes, 
she would have been very happy ; and had she 
known that her own brother, this babe over 
whose fortunes she exercised so much care and 
influence, would be the leader through whom 
freedom was to come to all her people, she 
would have indeed been a very proud girl. 

When her baby brother was born to her 
parents she should, naturally, have felt glad ; 
for the birth of a son was a very great cause 
for joy in a Hebrew home, where the desire for 
children was a passion. But, alas ! there was 
a shadow over that house ; the decree of the 
king of Egypt had gone forth that the male 
babes of the Hebrews should be slain. The 
slaves were becoming so numerous that their 



114 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

masters were beginning to fear they might 
grow strong enough to fight successfully for 
freedom. Hence the kingly tyrant ordered that 
the number should be reduced by killing these 
babes. What sorrow this order brought to all 
the Hebrew homes you may imagine, if you 
have a sweet baby brother in your own house. 

A boy baby often brings almost as much joy 
to an older sister's heart as it does to the par- 
ents. But to the loving heart of Miriam this 
birth brought great anxiety and fear. She joined 
with her parents in the councils as to what 
could be done to save the little fellow from 
the cruel doom that was ordered. For three 
months they managed to keep secret the very 
fact of his existence. But finally the time came 
when he could no longer be hidden, and then 
a plan was devised by which it was hoped his 
life might be saved. 

We do not know positively, but we have 
reason to think that it was largely owing to 
Miriam that the plan was devised by which the 
little Moses was saved. It would seem quite 
natural that the young girl, having much leis- 
ure, and doubtless possessing her own share of 



THE SISTERLY GIRL — MIRIAM. 115 

curiosity, should be more familiar with the 
habits of the Princess Thermuthis than were 
her parents. It is probable that she had often 
watched the great lady, as the princess went 
down to the Nile to bathe in the waters that 
were esteemed by the Egyptians as sacred. She 
was familiar with the hours of the princess's 
coming, and the very paths she would take. 
What girl in her circumstances would not have 
known all about the flowers and grasses alono> 
the banks of the river ? And what one would 
not have known still more surely when the 
princess, who represented the power and beauty 
of the land, came forth where one who was 
watching might see her ? 

Possibly the kind-hearted princess had spoken 
to Miriam at such times, and in this way the 
girl had gained some insight into the great lady's 
heart, so that she believed that the princess 
would not be cruel, as was her father the king. 
When she mentioned the princess in- the fam- 
ily council, and told what she had seen and 
known of her, it was decided that in the king's 
daughter lay the only chance for life for the 
boy. It was hoped that her woman's heart 



116 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

would interfere between the stern decree of 
the king and the fate of the innocent child. 
So the mother made the little ark of bulrushes, 
daubed it with slime and pitch, and, putting 
the child therein, laid the tiny boat among the 
flags by the river's brink. 

They were all very anxious to know what 
the result would be, and it was with many mis- 
givings that they left the little fellow alone 
there. Their desire was to stay near to see all 
that happened, and perhaps intercede with the 
princess, if the need came. 

But this they dared not do ; yet they could 
not leave the child quite alone, and, as the 
presence of the mother would attract too much 
attention, Miriam was chosen to remain where 
she could watch, while the heavy-hearted mother 
went back to her home and tremblingly awaited 
tidings of her boy. 

The fate of that boy now depended to a great 
degree, under God, on the ready wit and decis- 
ion of his sister. She had become the guardian 
of her brother Moses. What moments were 
those while Miriam waited in the distance, with 
her eyes strained toward the little ark, or turned 



THE SISTERLY GIRL — MIRIAM. 117 

now and then toward the door from which the 
Princess Thermuthis was accustomed to emerge 
when she came down to her bathing-place ! 
What anxieties pressed upon the girl ! What 
a throbbing of the heart ! What hopes and 
fears ! What thoughts ! 

At last the doors opened, and the princess, 
who represented the power to save the dear 
child if she had the will to do so. came forth. 
Down the great stone steps the beautiful woman 
walked slowly to the water's edge. Miriam's 
heart must almost have stood still. 

See ! Something attracts the attention of the 
princess. What is that among the flags there ? 
; ' Bring it to me ! " she commands ; and one of 
her maids runs to where the ark rests, and lifts 
it. and brings it to her mistress. 

Stirred by curiosity, the princess opens the 
ark ; and lo. she finds in it a baby ! " How 
strange ! " she thought, Then the little one, 
waked from its sleep, begins to weep. The des- 
tiny of Moses hangs upon the susceptibility of 
the woman's heart, Will it be touched by a 
baby's cry ? 

After all. the princess was but a woman. 



118 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

Though the daughter of the king, and used to 
all the pomp and circumstance of the court, 
she felt a human sympathy for this poor child 
out here alone at the edge of the great river. 
How sad it seemed that it should have been 
left thus ! Scanning him more closely, she pres- 
ently recognized the features of the enslaved race. 

" It is one of the Hebrew children," she said. 

Meanwhile Miriam had slowly drawn nearer 
and nearer. She had taken a place among the 
maidens who accompanied Thermuthis, and had 
eagerly scanned the changing features of their 
mistress, trying to determine in advance what 
her decision would be. She had seen the kind- 
ness and compassion kindling in the lady's 
countenance. She had strained her ears that 
she might hear the first word ; and when the 
recognition of the Hebrew child came, and the 
words had been uttered in a tone that indi- 
cated pity and compassion, Miriam divined that 
her plan was about to succeed. Joy filled her 
heart. She knew that now was the time for 
her to speak. Well for the baby that his sister 
was so prompt, so keen of comprehension, so 
quick-witted . 



THE SISTERLY GIRL — MIRIAM. 119 

:; Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the 
Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child 
for thee ? " 

She thus put the suggestion into the mind of 
the princess. It was a dangerous hint. The 
reply might have been : — 

" What do I want with a nurse ? Why shall 
I charge myself with a babe because I have 
found him in the water ? " But no ; the idea 
suggested by Miriam appealed to Thermuthis. 

" I will protect the child," she said ; " go, 
bring a nurse of his own race/' 

With what fleet feet did Miriam run ! Breath- 
lessly she entered her home, crying, " Mother ! 
Mother ! Where art thou ? Come, that I may 
tell the news. The princess has found and 
pitied our baby. She sends for thee to nurse 
him." 

Oh, joy ! What tears burst from the eyes 
of Jochebed ! Her baby was safe. 

Now Miriam hurries her mother to the place, 
and, veiling their feelings lest the princess should 
see that she has been the victim of a plot, 
they quietly await commands. Thermuthis gives 
her orders : — 



120 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

" Take this child away and nurse it for me, 
and I will give thee wages." 

This fulfils their highest hopes. It is the 
very best of all that they could have wished, 
for they are to have the child in their own 
home for several years. And he is there under 
the protecting aegis of the king's daughter, so 
that they have no more fears. When the 
agents of the king come about, to look for 
children in order that they might be slain, 
Miriam can defy them, and tell them to de- 
part ; that this babe is under the mightiest 
protection in the land. No doubt she took 
pride in thus defying the cruel men, and order- 
ing them from the door. 

During these years of his babyhood we may be 
sure that Miriam had a large part of the care 
of Moses. And after a while, when he was old 
enough, the princess sent for him to be brought 
to the palace. It was Miriam's duty to carry 
him thither, and to go there often to see how 
he came on, and to bring reports again to her 
parents. 

There is a tradition that Thermuthis included 
Miriam herself under her care, and that thus 



THE SISTERLY GIRL — MIRIAM. 121 

she was educated and trained in a manner far 
above the ordinary lot of her own people. It 
is very probable that this was the case ; for she 
evidently had some musical culture, and she 
showed in her songs a great familiarity with 
rhythm. 

Her love of Moses and her thoughtfulness 
for him were, from the first, the strong passions 
of her life. Through all the history of this 
brother and sister, the devotion of Miriam never 
faltered but once, and that was under sore temp- 
tation, when the wife of Moses had interfered. 
From the time of the exodus, through all the 
journeyings in the wilderness, until her death, 
Miriam was the assistant and powerful helper 
of her brother : and indeed she seems to have 
been joined with him and Aaron in the adminis- 
tration of affairs. She was a powerful per- 
sonality, a natural leader, of strong affections, 
prompt and fearless, and is forever associated 
in the records of the world with the great 
leader of his race. 



122 BIBLE BOYS AND GlRLS. 



THE PROPHET GIRL: 

DEBORAH. 

This narrative relates to the days of the He- 
brew nation known as the time of the Judges. 
The Hebrews were governed by judges, instead 
of kings, from the days of Othniel until Samuel. 
Othniel, the first judge, was the son-in-law of 
Caleb, who was a companion of Joshua in the 
conquest of Canaan ; so we may see from this 
how far the judgeship goes back. 

For the sins of the people, the yoke was put 
upon Israel for eight years, by Chushan ; and it 
was Othniel who arose and freed his people from 
this rule. But after this they fell again into 
idolatry ; and Eglon, the king of the Moabites, 
subdued and ruled them for eighteen years. 
Then Ehud became a deliverer and judge ; and 
after him came Shamgar, who defeated the Phil- 
istines, and released the Israelites again from 
their oppressors. 

But once more they sinned. Then Jabin, king 






THE PBOPHET GIRL — DEBORAH. 123 

of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. subjugated 
them, and another period of servitude began. 
Sisera, who was the commander of Jabin's army, 
and was permitted to have great authority over 
the conquered nation, oppressed them sorely. 

It was at this time, when they had been alter- 
nately free and under subjugation, and when 
they were suffering even more grievously than 
during any former period, that Deborah arose. 
She was a girl born with genius, and from the 
first attracted attention by her gifts. She could 
express her thoughts in wonderful rhythm ; and 
while she was yet very young, her songs were 
known everywhere among the people — as well 
known among them as were the songs of Burns 
to the common people in Scotland. 

These songs, which she sang in the streets 
and in the houses, and wherever the people could 
gather to hear her, were songs that told the story 
of her own nation. She had been familiar with 
this story from her infancy; she knew that 
her people were the chosen race of Jehovah, 
with a special great and wonderful mission in 
the world; she knew how they had fallen into 
evil ways, how they had suffered under a 



124 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

heathen power ; and her songs were made and 
sung for the purpose of awakening them. 

Before the days when written and printed 
books became common, there were always per- 
sons who went about from place to place singing 
songs and telling stories for the amusement and 
entertainment of the people. Often they were 
song-stories, — stories in which the narrative was 
mainly in prose, with interludes of verse. In 
this manner songs and legends, and even the 
history of a nation, could be kept alive, and 
made familiar to the many who could not have 
learned them from books, even had there been 
books to learn from. At first, it is probable 
that Deborah was regarded only as an excep- 
tionally apt and pleasing reciter of these songs 
and tales ; but they learned afterward that there 
was a deeper purpose in her method than they 
had known. 

When Deborah became old enough to reason, 
she found her nation subjugated under a heathen 
power, and not fulfilling the high destiny for 
which she so well knew it was intended. She 
pondered over this ; and while her girl com- 
panions in Ramah were interested in trifles, she 



THE PROPHET GTBL — DEBORAH. 125 

was filled with great thoughts, which were ap- 
parently more befitting a man of years and of 
wisdom than the brain of a girl who went about 
singing songs. But in some things she was 
the equal of the wisest of them. 

She was possessed of strong individuality, of 
powerful will, and was a high-souled girl. 
From her youth she had thought, planned, and 
prayed, with one purpose always in view. In 
her silent hours she began to feel some mighty 
power working within her, giving her great 
thoughts, and a knowledge of the future. It 
was borne in upon her, gradually perhaps, that 
she was to perform a great part in the history 
of her nation ; and when she had come to 
fully realize and believe this, her character be- 
came more grave and sedate, and her songs 
took on a new meaning and importance. 

Jehovah saw tit. in his great wisdom, to deal 
with the Jews as with no other nation. They 
were his chosen people, chosen to give the true 
religion to the world. In working out his 
purpose he came to some of the persons of that 
nation, and breathed into them his divine 
spirit in such a way that they were able to 



126 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

know his will, and to speak for him as no 
others have ever done. He inspired some to 
write the books of the Bible ; to others, he 
gave the power to interpret his will, and to 
speak for him. This was called the gift of 
prophecy, and no more wonderful gift has ever 
been granted a human being. It was this which 
was granted to Deborah, and to only one other 
woman in all the early Hebrew history. This 
other one was Miriam, of whom we have just 
told you. But Miriam did not become, as did 
Deborah, a ruler. It has been rightly said that 
Deborah was a unique figure in the annals of 
the chosen people. 

Coleridge has called her the Hebrew Boa- 
dicea. She has also been likened to Joan of 
Arc. And, indeed, this has not been without 
reason; for the part that this girl played in 
Jewish history very much resembled that of 
Boadicea in British history, and of the Maid 
of Orleans in the history of France. 

She was a divinely inspired woman, and com- 
missioned of God for a special work which es- 
tablished her place in history for all time. But 
she was by nature a splendidly endowed and 



THE PROPHET GIRL — DEBORAH. 127 

very remarkable girl, for God always chooses in- 
struments that are qualified for his work. He 
first qualified this deep -hearted girl by nature ; 
thus he prepared her for the work that he in- 
tended she should do, and then he gave her the 
will and the spirit to accomplish it. 

Her first songs, which were sung about her 
home and in the ears of her neighbors, were 
no doubt simply patriotic chants. But they 
appealed to her hearers, and were taken up and 
went all over the land, and were repeated by 
others everywhere, and won her great fame. 
They were so perfect in their rhythm, so full 
of fire and pathos, that they went right to the 
heart of the nation. By this means, long before 
she came prominently before the public in the 
capacity of a leader, she was known and loved 
wherever her songs had penetrated, and that 
was to the farthest boundaries of Israel. 

A wise man once said, " Let me write the 
songs of a people, and I care not who makes 
their laws ; " meaning by this, that, by his songs, 
he would win their love and regard, and ac- 
quire a fame greater than the lawmaker could 
hope to achieve. 



128 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

So she was still a remarkable personage, while 
the public knew and thought of her only as 
a singer of sweet and stirring songs. She at- 
tracted attention wherever she went, and was 
accorded much admiration ; but this did not di- 
vert her thoughts from the noble things that 
were in her heart. She was rilled with only 
one great idea, the freedom of her people ; and 
she was glad of the influence she had, simply 
because it gave her the ability to accomplish 
this great end. 

Thus she spent her youth, pondering and 
planning, and awakening the heart of the na- 
tion by her patriotic songs, and by recounting 
its history and great destiny. 

While still quite young she became a wife ; 
her husband's name was Lapidoth. The He- 
brews were opposed to single life, and it was 
not thought necessary that either a man or a 
woman who had a special mission in the world 
should be kept from family ties. Deborah was 
no ascetic, nor was she different from her peo- 
ple in manner or custom ; therefore she mar- 
ried, as did the other women of her nation. 

The Hebrew names are always significant. 



THE PROPHET GIRL — DEBORAH. 129 

The name " Deborah " means " the bee," and 
that of her husband means "the torches." And 
from this latter fact has sprung a tradition 
that she was the woman of lamps, of light and 
fire, rather than the wife of a man. This tra- 
dition is, however, inconsistent with the Bible 
text. 

As her fame spread she was called to the 
judgeship, a position that heretofore had been 
held only by men, and they were always se- 
lected from the wisest of the nation. But she 
acquitted herself well, and her fame continued 
to spread. Her favorite seat, where she re- 
ceived the people who came to consult her, was 
under a graceful palm-tree near Ramah. There 
this woman, famed for wisdom, fired with pa- 
triotism and religious enthusiasm, became the 
centre of the moral and judicial power of the 
nation. Her own heroic soul being aflame, 
she set the whole land on fire with the same 
great purposes that stirred herself. 

When the time for action came, and she 
was about to proceed against the enemies of 
Israel, she chose a leader for the army. She 
had been attracted by the growing fame of a 



130 BIBLE BOYS AND GIBLS. 

chieftain of the north, named Barak, who had 
already impressed his men with his patriotic 
spirit and his daring. She chose him for her 
ally, and wisely. Doubtless she had seen what 
he was capable of ; she knew that he had the 
courage and the strength to accomplish great 
things ; but she saw that he needed another 
mind to plan for him, another soul to inspire 
him. Having decided to call him to her aid, 
the prophetess sent word to him that the time 
had come to act. He was ready ; but he asked 
that she go with him, and help to gather the 
army, and to direct the battle. To this Deborah 
made answer that if she did, the victory would 
be attributed to a woman, and that he would 
be robbed of the laurels to which he would be 
justly entitled. Still he urged her, and she con- 
sented. 

So, together, they started out to arouse the peo- 
ple. Among the hills and valleys Barak sounded 
the trumpets of cows' horns. And when they 
heard, the people came from their homes among 
the hills and in the valleys, where they had 
been attending their flocks, or pruning the 
vines and fruit-trees, or tilling the land for 



THE PROPHET GIRL — DEBORAH 131 

grain, and gathered together in bands and con- 
gregations to discuss the matters that were told 
to them, and to follow these intrepid leaders. 
Wherever they went the fire of patriotism was 
awakened ; and it spread from town to town, 
from valley to valley, from hilltop to hilltop. 
The very presence of Deborah, the sound of her 
voice, and her own great confidence, acted on the 
men just as, centuries after, the personality of 
Joan of Arc acted upon the people of France. 

In a little time they had gathered an army 
of ten thousand men, although many of the 
tribes hung back, and refused to give their aid. 
Then they pressed forward until the field of 
action was reached. It was the Valley of Jez- 
reel, near Mount Tabor. From this mount 
Deborah and Barak viewed the host. 

" Up ! This is the day ! Is not Jehovah gone 
before thee ? " cried Deborah. By her enthu- 
siasm and her intrepid manner she inspired 
the troops to the very highest pitch of daring 
as they went toward the enemy. As they ad- 
vanced, a great storm of rain and hail broke 
forth. It smote the enemy in their faces, and 
the troops of Israel on their backs. Because of 



132 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

this Deborah sang, " The stars in their courses 
fought against Sisera." You see the very ele- 
ments were helping on her cause. The enemy 
were blinded by the storm ; their cavalry floun- 
dered in the mud ; their ranks broke ; they 
fled in confusion, and the rout was complete. 
Sisera only escaped by fleeing by himself, on 
foot. 

Thus was Israel delivered by the leadership 
of this wonderful woman, who in this manner 
fulfilled the mission which she had been di- 
rected to undertake. 

After the rout, Deborah sang the great song 
which is recorded in the fifth chapter of the 
Book of Judges. It is a noble song of triumph, 
and has been declared to be " a splendid ex- 
pression of thought and feeling, stirred into 
intensest energy, and conveyed in purest rhyth- 
mic form." 



THE ATHLETIC BOY — SAMSON. 133 



THE ATHLETIC BOY: 

SAMSON. 

Samson was the Hercules of Hebrew history. 
He was its strongest man, and the one who per- 
formed the most remarkable deeds of strength 
of any man that nation ever produced, or, 
indeed, who ever lived, in any time or place. 
He was also the greatest laugher and jester 
whose story is told in the Bible ; for if he was 
full and running over with strength, he was as 
irrepressible in his fun, and was always good- 
natured, finding jokes in the most serious cir- 
cumstances. He did everything, even the most 
terrible deeds, with a jest in his mouth and a 
smile on his face. 

His parents were of the tribe of Dan, which 
had its possessions in the southern part of the 
country. When he was born, the Philistines 
were masters of his tribe, and of the tribes of 
Judah and Simeon. The Philistines were a 
strong and warlike people, and possessed five 



134 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

great walled cities. Their chief idols were a 
fish-god, Dagon, represented by a man's body 
ending in a fish's tail ; a fish-goddess, whose 
temples were in Ashdod, Ascalon, and Gaza ; 
and a god of flies, Baal-zebub, whose temple 
was in Ekron. They had so completely cowed 
the three tribes of Israel that the latter hardly 
dreamed any longer of resistance. 

The birth of Samson opened a new period, 
which culminated long after in the reign of 
David, when the hostile nations about them 
were completely conquered. He was a child 
destined to rouse his countrymen to a long 
struggle for independence ; and for many years 
after his death his fame continued to be an 
inspiration to them. 

The Patriarchal age was past ; it was now 
the period of the Judges. This was the heroic 
age of Hebrew history, — the days when the 
deeds of strong men, done single-handed, counted 
for more than they do in well-organized soci- 
ety, where great things are done by the many 
under a common leader. The period of the 
Judges lasted from 1300 to 1000 B.C. ; but we 
do not know the exact date of Samson's life, 



THE ATHLETIC BOY — SAMSON. 135 

more than that he lived toward the end of this 
period. The Judges were a kind of uncrowned 
kings ; the " Book of Judges " tells of mighty 
men of valor, and is full of martial deeds. 

The southern tribes inhabited a maritime 
plain, bounded on one side by barren hills. 
The Philistines were between them and the sea. 
where there were rich grain-fields and pastures. 

The birth of Samson was announced before- 
hand, as was that of Isaac — the only two in 
the Old Testament of whom this can be said. 
His parents lived in Zorah, a city on the border 
between Dan and Judah. It was a mountain 
village, with rocky and rugged surroundings. 

Manoah, the father of Samson, was a man 
of great virtue, and the principal man of the 
place. It was announced to the parents that 
when the child should be born he was to be 
reared as a Nazarite. That meant that he was 
not allowed to use wine, or strong drink, or 
vinegar, or sweet wine, or to eat grapes or rai- 
sins, or any product of the vine, " from the 
kernel even to the husk." His hair was not 
to be cut, and when he grew older his beard 
was to be untouched by shears or razor. He 



136 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

must not touch a dead body, even that of father 
or mother or brother or sister. He was to be 
God's champion against the Philistines, and to 
this he was consecrated. 

He appears to have taken his great beauty 
and remarkable wit from his mother. His name 
means "the sunny," and this was his charac- 
teristic ; for he was, from childhood, bright of 
eye, and quick and ready of speech. His hair, 
as it grew and remained untouched, he wore in 
seven great locks over his shoulders. 

From the first he was eccentric ; that is, not 
like other children. " He was the most frolic- 
some, irregular, uncultivated man that the na- 
tion ever produced." Full of quirks and quips, 
irony and laughter, he is a strange and fan- 
tastic character, who makes us smile and sigh. 
Boisterous mirth and tearful sorrow, wit and 
folly, force and feebleness, are mixed in him 
from the very first. His life is both comedy 
and tragedy. " His story ends with a comma 
and a dash blistered over by a tear." 

He played a thousand pranks that are unre- 
corded, as strange as those that are told. He 
kept the house in an uproar ; the meals could 



THE ATHLETIC BOY — SAMSOX. 137 

not be eaten in silence with the young Samson 
at the table. His father must have thought him 
a strange child to have been announced from 
heaven as the future deliverer of his people. 
The boy knew what was expected of him ; and 
the only seriousness he ever showed was in 
obeying the Nazarite vow, and in cultivating 
his strength, both of which he did with the 
greatest care, 

He was the mightiest boy at all games, the 
most famous athlete among his companions. 
None other could jump so far as he ; no one 
dared wrestle with him a second time ; no one 
could hurl a stone with so much force ; no 
one was so fearless in the presence of wild beasts. 
Where others used weapons to slay beasts, he 
rent them with his hands. What a superb, 
mighty, laughing, roaring, rollicking boy he 
was ! 

His youth was passed in his native town, 
and was filled with mad pranks, with excur- 
sions through the surrounding country, with 
hunting and fishing, with laughing and jesting. 
But, for all this, there was some serious work 
to be done, and of this Samson had his share. 



138 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

What a sight it was to see him ploughing a 
field, looking stronger than the oxen with which 
he worked ! What cuffs he gave them with 
his brawny hand when they did not obey ! 
How, in harvest time, he could gather up the 
sheaves, and pitch the grain hither and thither! 
How, at threshing time, with the big fork, that 
had to be made especially large to fit his huge 
build, he could make the straw fly from under 
the treading oxen! When the harvest of grapes 
and figs was to be gathered, what great baskets 
he would carry into the storehouses ! 

When it came to hewing trees and rolling 
logs and lifting stones, Manoah's son could 
outdo all the other laborers. It was but a few 
years ago a common thing for the cradlers in 
our harvest-fields to take pride in being able to 
cut more grain than their companions. The 
use of machinery has now done away with 
all these mowing-matches ; but it has always 
been customary for out-of-door workers to vie 
with each other, and we may be certain the 
same pleasant rivalry existed in Samson's day. 
But when night came, it found the young athlete 
always far in the lead. 



THE ATHLETIC BOY — SAMSON. 139 

Always strongest, merriest, and most fearless, 
he must have been a source of cheer and glad- 
ness, with his big, beaming face, among all the 
people of his town and community. How could 
they help liking Samson ? When the weaker 
ones were in his company, on a hunt or expe- 
dition, they felt the comfort which weakness 
does in the presence of kindly strength. Noth- 
ing untoward could happen to them while he 
was about. 

When he had grown to young manhood, he 
wandered off to Timnath, a Philistine village 
nestling in a cleft of a hill that was lined with 
vineyards and olives, and looked down on a 
valley rich with corn. There he saw a girl 
whom he wished to marry. His parents were 
greatly displeased that he should want to take 
a wife from among the enemies of his people; 
but he had his way. It was when he was 
going to the betrothal that a lion roared against 
him, young and fierce, and having no weapon, 
he rent it as a kid. 

The Philistines took his wife from him ; but 
the practical joker seized a lot of firebrands, and 
tied them to the tails of three hundred jackals, 



140 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

which he found in traps that were commonly set 
for these destroyers of corn ; then, as a revenge, 
he turned the jackals loose in the Philistines' 
standing grain. 

We can imagine the great joker's laugh, as 
he saw the creatures running here and there 
through the blazing fields, while he thought of 
the consternation of his enemies. They knew 
there was only one man capable of such a deed, 
and they instantly charged it home to Samson. 

When his enemies once thought they had 
him in their power, he broke the cords with 
which he was bound, and seizing the jaw-bone 
of a dead ass that lay near, he slew with it a 
thousand of the Philistines, after which, with 
a huge laugh, he made a jest about the instru- 
ment of slaughter he had used. 

Once when he was in the town of Gaza, the 
Philistines shut the gates, thinking they had 
him secure at last ; but in the night he broke 
down the gates, and carried them off on his 
shoulders, and set them on the top of a hill 
where the Philistines could see them the next 
day. This gave him another chance to raise 
a great laugh against his foes. 



THE A THLETIC BOY— SAM SOX. 141 

But after all his jokes and great, heroic deeds, 
he fell a prey to a deceitful woman, who induced 
him to reveal to her that his strength lay in 
his hair. "While he was asleep she cut off his 
long; and flowing; locks, and called in his ene- 
mies who then easily bound him. His strength 
for the time was wholly gone. They put out 
his eyes, and made him toil at grinding their 
corn, while they shouted at him with derision. 

But at last, when his hair had grown again, 
and his strength had consequently returned, he 
induced a lad to guide him. and to place his 
hands on the pillars of the Philistine temple, in 
which was gathered a great multitude. Then. 
with a final effort, one last burst of that noble 
and heroic power, he pulled down the supports 
of the whole edifice, and he and all within it 
were crushed to death. 

The extraordinary thing about his method of 
delivering: his count rymen from their enemies 
was that he stood alone. He did not sound a 
trumpet and gather an army, but he intimidated 
the Philistines and encouraged his own people 
by prodigious examples of personal valor. He 
showed the cowardice of the Philistines, and 



142 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

drove them before him like a flock of sheep. His 
example showed that if one man could do this, 
a united people need have no fear, and that it 
was folly for them longer to submit to an enemy 
who in reality could be easily defeated, if the 
Israelites had but the spirit to attempt it. 



THE PRIESTLY BOY — SAMUEL. 143 



THE PRIESTLY BOY: 

SAMUEL. 

All nations, in all times, have had their 
priests. Man from the beginning has acknowl- 
edged some superior being, and has worshipped 
such with forms and words. In this service, 
priests, or directors, have been required ;' and so 
we find that the pagans had their priests of 
Jupiter, Mars, Bacchus, Osiris, Isis, and many 
other divinities of whom you have found some 
mention in this book, and that the priest exer- 
cised great authority over the people. 

The meaning of the word is " one set apart 
for the performance of sacrifice and other 
offices and ceremonies of religion." Thus, 
among the ancient Jews, the first-born of every 
family was a priest, as well as the fathers, the 
princes, and the kings. Thus Cain and Abel. 
Noah, Abraham, Job, Isaac and Jacob, who 
offered their own sacrifices, were priests. 

Amongst the Israelites, after their departure 



144 BIBLE BOYS AND GIBLS. 

from Egypt, the priesthood was confined to one 
tribe, that of Levi. It consisted of three orders, 
— the high priests, priests, and Levites. 

The office of priest, among the Jews, was one 
of great dignity and power, as you will see in 
the story of David, where the very priest of 
whom we are about to tell you here was 
charged by the Lord with the important office 
of selecting and anointing one who should suc- 
ceed Saul as king. 

This boy, Samuel, was not of the priestly 
tribe of Levi, but was dedicated to this service 
by the act of his mother, as we shall tell you 
hereafter. From his earliest childhood he was 
trained directly for this life to which he was 
destined. 

Samuel was born in Ramah, now called El- 
Ram, about five miles north of Jerusalem. The 
town is situated on Mount Ephraim, and it was 
a stronghold on the borders of Ephraim and 
Judah. He was the son of Elkanah, a man of 
the tribe of Ephraim, who had two wives, 
Hannah and Peninnah. This was not unusual, 
as polygamy, which is a man's having more than 
one wife, was a common practice at that time. 



THE PBIESTLY BOY — SAMUEL 145 

Yet. common as it was, it was always a source 
of more or less trouble in the households ; jeal- 
ousy and bitterness were constantly springing 
up through the rivalry of the different wives. 

Elkanah's experience in this respect was no 
more pleasant than that of others. His wife 
Peninnah had children, while Hannah, whom he 
loved best, was for a long time childless. The 
Hebrew women were all most anxious to have 
children, and considered it the greatest of mis- 
fortunes to be without. In the households 
where there was more than one wife, and one 
of them had children and the other none, as in 
Elkanah's home, the fortunate mother made it 
her particular pleasure to constantly remind the 
childless wife of her misfortune: and to take 
upon herself all manner of superior airs because 
of her own motherhood. So Hannah was not 
only grieved at her lack of children, but she 
was forced to endure the gibes and taunts of 
Peninnah until her life became a burden. 

Now we will go back and tell you of Samuel's 
birth, and how he happened to be set apart to 
become a priest. 

The centre of worship in that early day was 



146 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

not Jerusalem, which afterward became so fa- 
mous for its great temple, but it was Shiloh, 
twenty-five miles north of Jerusalem. At Shiloh 
were located the ark of the covenant and the 
tabernacle, which had been made in the wilder- 
ness in the days of Moses. These were brought 
to Shiloh and there placed in a temple, which 
was of course a much smaller and plainer one 
than that afterward built by Solomon. But 
there were the altars, and the gold and silver 
vessels, and the lamps and the candlesticks, and 
all the furniture for the elaborate worship and 
sacrifices as prescribed by the laws of Moses. 

The high-priest at this time was Eli, a very 
grand and good old man. Eli was also judge 
of the nation ; for this was before the days of 
the kings, when the judges were the rulers of 
the nation. It was not until after Samuel him- 
self had been judge for many years that the 
first king of Israel, Saul, was appointed. It 
was not usual for a high-priest to be judge 
also ; but for some reason the custom was de- 
parted from in the case of Eli. 

At the temple, the people had their sacrifices, 
burnt-offerings, sin-offerings, and peace-offerings, 



THE PRIESTLY BOY — SAMUEL. 147 

presented before God by the priests in their 
behalf. This offering of sacrifices would seem 
very strange to us now ; but that was the way 
in which God had instructed his people at that 
time. They brought cattle and sheep and the 
fruits of the field ; the animals were slain on 
the very altar by the priests, and the creatures 
were there burnt as offerings to God. The idea 
in this was to represent the offering of one's own 
life and heart. Men and women thus brought 
part of their property and offered it to God 
instead of themselves. That was the meaning 
of it. All this was performed with very elabo- 
rate ceremonies, which were very impressive to 
the eye and the ear. 

When the people of the earth were in a 
more childlike condition than most grown people 
are now, the Lord gave them a religion, or 
rather religious ceremonies, that appealed more 
to the senses than does our manner of worship 
now. Their ceremonies were like pictures, or 
things to be seen ; for thus could they best 
understand their symbolic meaning. As the 
world grows older, and the people become more 
intellectual, they do not need so many ceremo- 



148 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

nies to help them receive deep impressions of 
things. 

One of the most striking accessories of the 
worship of the temple over which Eli presided 
was the companies of women who led in the 
sacred songs and dances. These persons were 
very carefully trained in their parts. They had 
musical instruments, cymbals and timbrels, and 
were familiar with chants and psalms. In cer- 
tain portions of the worship they joined their 
voices in great and beautiful choruses, and they 
moved in slow, rhythmical dances to the sound 
of their own voices and instruments. 

Upon the occasion of one of the annual visits 
of Elkanah and his wives to Shiloh for the 
purpose of worship and sacrifice, Hannah stood 
one evening by the door of the tabernacle pray- 
ing. She made no audible sound, but moved 
her lips as she formed the words of her peti- 
tion. Eli, sitting near by, saw her, and observ- 
ing her distressed appearance and her moving 
lips, but hearing no sound, concluded that she 
was drunken. He therefore called her to him 
and reproved her; but she told him that she 
was not drunken. She was, she said, a woman 



THE PRIESTLY BOY— SAMUEL. 149 

in great distress, and she had been praying for 
help. Thereupon Eli gave her his blessing, and 
also uttered a prayer that her desires might be 
answered by the Almighty. 

Within a year from that time her prayer for 
a child was answered, and Samuel was born. 
There never was a more delighted mother, and 
in proof of her gratitude to God she promised 
to dedicate her boy to the Lord. In accordance 
with this vow, he was, from the very first, trained 
piously and religiously at home ; and he grew 
up in an atmosphere of great faith and earnest 
religious surroundings. His mother kept this 
one thing before the lad all the time : he was 
told that the priesthood was to be his future, 
and all his wishes and hopes were entwined 
with that career. When other boys were play- 
ing, he was at the studies that would help him 
toward that end, and all his thoughts and plans 
were centred upon it. 

His mother determined not to go to Shiloh 
again until her boy also was old enough to be 
taken, and left in charge of Eli. As soon as 
this time came they went thither together ; 
Hannah took with her for the sacrifice, three 



150 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

bullocks, one ephah of flour, and a bottle of 
wine. 

When they arrived at the temple they made 
a sacrifice of one bullock, and presented the boy 
to Eli. The great man seems from the first 
to have been favorably impressed with Samuel, 
and took him at once into his affections. The 
boy, on his part, trusted and revered the aged 
priest ; and, in a manner, the latter took the place 
of his parents, watching over him and training 
him carefully for his high duties. The boy 
was solemnly dedicated to God, and was taken 
into the temple service as an assistant of Eli, to 
perform such services as a child was capable of. 

A linen ephod was put on him, as the sign 
of his priestly office. A garment of this kind 
was thereafter made for him yearly by his 
mother, and by her brought up to Shiloh on the 
occasion of their annual visits. 

These seasons of reunion with his mother and 
father must have been great days for the boy- 
priest, and looked forward to by him with the 
same eagerness that children now look forward 
to Christmas or other holidays. 

His time was spent in regular employments 



THE PBIESTLY BOY — SAMUEL. 151 

that had to do with his adopted course of life. 
Part of the time of his training under Eli was 
spent in the study of the law of Moses, and in 
the ritual of the priesthood. A part also was 
given to his private devotions, and a part to 
the public worship. It fell to his lot to have 
something to do with caring for the sacred 
vessels ; he had to keep bright the silver and 
golden cups, lamps, candlesticks, and the numer- 
ous articles of this nature that were in use about 
the temple ; it was he who trimmed the seven- 
branched candlestick, one light of which was 
left burning all night. 

His life in the temple was calculated to give 
him an idea of the importance of the priestly 
office upon which he had entered. He saw the 
great crowds of people coming up to the feasts, 
and watched, with reverence, the sacrifices for 
sin that were constantly being offered. 

He slept in the same part of the temple as 
Eli, probably because the old priest was so fond 
of him that he liked to have him near at all 
times. Thus he came into even more intimate 
relation with the temple life than he could 
otherwise have done. 



152 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

Eli had sons who were priests, and who, it 
would naturally be supposed, would succeed him 
in time. But they were bad men; for they vio- 
lated all the laws in regard to the sacrifices, they 
took all the best portions of the offerings for 
their own food, and acted in the most irreverent 
manner, until it became a scandal in the land. 
They also did other things that were very wrong. 
For all these the high-priest repeatedly rebuked 
them, but without inducing them to reform. 
Their wrong-doing was carried to such an excess 
that the Lord became very angry with them ; 
and a prophet came and told Eli that God had 
made this known to him, and that as a punish- 
ment the sons of Eli should not succeed their 
father. 

Soon after this, Samuel was one night awak- 
ened by a soft voice that called him by name. 
Thinking that it was Eli who called, he arose 
and ran to the high-priest, saying, " Here am 
I." But Eli told him that he had not called, 
and bade him lie down again. But Samuel 
heard the voice a second and a third time, and 
each time ran to Eli, thinking that he had called. 
Eli then perceived that the voice was from God ; 



THE PRIESTLY BOY — SAMUEL. 153 

so lie instructed Samuel to lie down, and if the 
voice called him again to reply, " Speak, Lord ; 
for thy servant heareth." So the boy went 
and lay down in his place ; and. when he heard 
the voice yet again, he answered as Eli had 
directed. Then the Lord told him of the doom 
of Eli's sons. 

When the morning came Samuel was afraid 
to tell Eli what the Lord had said to him. But 
the high-priest commanded that he should tell 
all, which he then did. Thereupon Samuel's 
fame as a prophet began to be known through 
all the land. 

Some time after this, when Samuel's reputa- 
tion had become well established, and when he 
had probably become almost a young man, the 
Philistines came with their armies to make war 
against Israel. There was a great battle, in 
which the Israelites were defeated. Then, as 
a last resort to procure victory, they took the 
sacred ark from its place in the temple, and 
carried it before them into the midst of the 
battle. It had always been the sign of victory. 
Once again was the enemy terrified at the sight 
of it ; for they thought it indicated that the God 



154 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

of the Israelites would fight for the Hebrews, 
and that it would no longer be of any use for 
the Philistines to fight. So they turned to fly • 
but their generals soon rallied them, and brought 
them into the battle again ; and they not only 
drove the Israelites back, but captured the ark 
itself, and carried it off to their own cities. 

This was considered by the Israelites the very 
greatest calamity that could have befallen them ; 
for they felt that it indicated the removal from 
them of the visible presence of God, and that 
they could no longer depend upon his help. 

In this same battle, as a further calamity, 
the two wicked sons of Eli, who were named 
Hophni and Phinehas, were slain. When the 
messenger with these terrible tidings reached 
Eli, the old man was so overcome with grief 
that he fell backward from his seat, and, being 
a very heavy man, his neck was broken by the 
fall, and he died. 

Then Samuel was called upon to take the lead, 
and he became high-priest and judge in place 
of Eli. In these capacities he served the people 
well for many years, and was one of the grand- 
est and most useful men the nation ever had. 



THE WINNING GIRL — RUTH. 155 



THE WINNING GIRL: 

RUTH. 

Ruth is the only one of the girls of the 
Bible of whom we tell you in this book who 
was not a Jewess. She was a Moabitess. The 
Moabites, however, were of the same stock of 
people originally as the Jews, being descended 
from Lot, who was the nephew of Abraham. 

The land of Moab, where Ruth was born, 
lay on the eastern border of the Dead Sea. 

This is to-day, as it was then, a very fertile 
and beautiful country. It is principally an 
undulating plain, but is varied in some portions 
by hills. The plain appears to be a high plateau ; 
but this is more seeming than real, on account 
of the great depresssion of the Dead Sea, which 
is one of the lowest points on the globe. It is 
an agricultural region, watered by the Arnon 
and other streams. In the time of Ruth it was 
well wooded with oaks, cedars, and kindred trees ; 
but the timber is now much more scarce, for 



156 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

the forests have given way to wide reaches of 
good grass, and to vineyards and cultivated 
fields. But the forests were never so great as 
to interfere with agriculture ; and the cultiva- 
tion of the vine, of grain, and the herding of 
sheep, have always been among the occupations 
upon which the people relied for their sustenance. 

The fields upon the plains are full of limestone 
pebbles. These are a blessing to the soil, as 
they enable it to retain the moisture which is 
necessary for the growth of crops during the 
dry season better than it otherwise could. These 
pebbles were, ages ago, disintegrated from the 
mountainous regions, and washed down by great 
floods. 

Here, instead of winter and summer, the 
year is divided into the rainy and dry seasons. 
The former begins in October and lasts until 
March, during which times the rains are almost 
of daily occurrence. When these are over, and 
the soil begins to dry, the moisture is taken up 
very rapidly by the hot sun. The wheat, which 
is then immature, would quickly blast if it 
were not for the pebbles ; these gather moisture 
about and beneath them, and help to retain it 



THE WINNING GIRL — RUTH. 157 

in sufficient quantity so that the crops may not 
suffer. You will see how this is if, in mid- 
summer, you will turn over a stone that is upon 
an apparently dry place. If the stone has been 
in that one place for any time, you will find 
the soil directly beneath it damp. It is said 
that some years ago a family of Americans went 
to live in Moab and took up a farm. The 
first thing they did was to clear off the pebbles 
and heap them up in little hills, just as they 
had been accustomed to pile up the surplus 
stones upon their New England farm. The 
result was that their barley crop, which is har- 
vested just at the time that the rainy season 
ends, was excellent ; but the wheat, which had 
not completed its growth, and needed further 
moisture to finish out the stalk and fill the 
grain, was almost wholly dried up, while their 
neighbors, who had not disturbed the pebbles 
on their farms, had a good yield. 

The houses in the land of Moab were of 
stone ; they were one story high, and had flat 
roofs ; they were the very same in construction 
and appearance as the traveller will see there 
now. A peculiar kind of sheep are common, 



158 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

which have a long, flat, broad tail that is a mass 
of fat. Jackals and foxes abound, as well as 
wild pigeons, and the birds which we call Eng- 
lish sparrows, but which are really natives of 
that land. Besides the vine, groves of figs and 
olives are cultivated. 

This land of Moab was governed by a king 
long before Israel had a monarch, so that its 
history is one of great antiquity. The national 
god of Moab was Chemosh, but the Canaanite 
god, Baal-Peor, was also worshipped. This wor- 
ship of Baal-Peor was of the lowest and most 
vile kind. The god Chemosh was, however, the 
chief divinity, and was considered the head of 
the nation and its special protector. 

It was amid this heathenism that Ruth grew 
up. 

About the time of her birth there was born 
also, in the land of Judah, in the town of Bethle- 
hem, a boy who was named Mahlon, and who was 
afterward to become her husband. The father of 
Mahlon was Elimelech ; his mother was Naomi, 
and he had a brother Chilion. While the two 
boys were yet very young there was a great 
famine in Bethlehem ; and their parents, finding 



THE WINNING GIRL — RUTH. 159 

subsistence difficult, took all their household 
goods and moved into the land of Moab, and 
there made a new home. 

In this new home Elimelech died. In the 
course of time the boys grew to manhood, and 
Mahlon married Ruth, while Chilion took as his 
wife another Moabite girl named Orpah. 

It was contrary to the ideas and the law of 
the Jews to marry among the heathen ; and these 
marriages, which, nevertheless, sometimes took 
place, were usually the source of much trouble. 
The ideas, the training, and the religion of the 
heathen women were so different from those of 
the Hebrews that they caused much friction and 
disagreement. In those days, when the various 
tribes and nations had such diversity of customs, 
and when there was no common standard of 
culture, and when there were no newspapers and 
books to give the different peoples the same 
ideas, it was much more advisable than now 
that one should marry among his own nation. 
But even now, when two people whose training 
and methods of life have been wholly different- 
attempt to live together, it often produces very 
unhappy results. 



160 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

About ten years after their marriage, both 
Mahlon and Chilion died. Naomi, their mother, 
being now without support, and without any 
ties to the land of her adoption, resolved to 
turn homeward again to Judah. The two young 
women, the widows of her sons, started on the 
journey with her ; but, before they had proceeded 
far, Naomi began to advise them to return. She 
told each one of them to go back to her mother's 
house. She herself knew what it was to go into 
a strange land, and she knew that the circum- 
stances for these young women were much more 
unfavorable than they had been for her. When 
she went into a new country it was with the 
company and support of her husband. 

Her arguments convinced one of them, Orpah, 
of the wisdom of this counsel, and she turned 
her face back home again. But Ruth, with 
beautiful fidelity and affection, refused to leave 
Naomi alone. And the expressions which she 
used in stating this determination are so beau- 
tiful that they show Ruth to have been an un- 
usual woman, — one whose heart was filled with 
gentleness and love. She said : — 

" Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return 



THE WINNING GIRL — RUTH. 161 

from following after thee : for whither thou 
goest, I will go ; and where thou lodgest, I will 
lodge : thy people shall be my people, and thy 
God my God. Where thou diest, will I die, and 
there will I be buried : the Lord do so to me, 
and more also, if aught but death part thee and 
me." 

Such a plea could not be resisted. Naomi 
had not the will to make further opposition, nor 
to send her daughter-in-law from her. So these 
two continued their journey together until they 
came to Bethlehem. 

Very sad, very pathetic, was this return of 
Naomi to her native town. When her old 
friends and neighbors greeted her by her name, 
the meaning of which is u pleasant," she said: 
" Call me not by that name, but call me ' Marah,' 
which means bitter. For," said she, "the Lord 
hath dealt bitterly with me. I went out full, 
and the Lord hath brought me home empty." 

The time of their return was the beginning 
of the barley harvest. Barley was one of the 
chief products of that country, and the grain 
from which the bread was mainly made. The 
ownership of barley land and the growing of 



162 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

this crop formed one of the principal items of 
the wealth of the people. 

In the town of Bethlehem lived a rich man 
named Boaz, who was a relative of the husband 
of Naomi. Her husband had owned land in 
Bethlehem, and when he moved to Moab he had 
left this property in charge of another relative. 
This man, who was not very honest, had assumed 
that Elimelech had gone away to remain per- 
manently, that he would never return to claim 
his property, and so had appropriated it to his 
own use. When Naomi and Ruth came back 
he seems to have been un wiling to surrender 
it to them, and thus they were practically des- 
titute. 

Ruth was not an idler ; and finding themselves 
thus in need, she took upon herself at once the 
task of earning a living both for herself and 
for Naomi, who was old, and therefore not able 
to accomplish much in the way of bread-winning. 

It was a custom in that land, as it still is, 
to allow the poor to go into the fields after the 
reapers, and to glean the grain which they left 
ungathered. With the primitive reaping-hooks 
that were then in use, much more of the grain 



THE WINNING GIRL — RUTH. 163 

was necessarily left in the field than is now 
the case, where modern harvesting implements 
take it up so closely ; besides this, the kindness 
of those who had plenty dictated that they 
should leave a good deal for the poor, so that 
many of the latter were able to find enough 
among the gleanings to supply their scanty needs. 

Ruth went to glean in the fields of Boaz, the 
relative of her mother-in-law whom we have 
already named. It is probable that Naomi di- 
rected her thither, knowing that she would be 
more apt to meet with kind and generous treat- 
ment than if she went into the fields of an entire 
stranger. 

After she had been gleaning there for a time, 
Boaz went from the town to the fields to observe 
his harvesters. He had exchanged the simple 
and beautiful salutations of that day, saying to 
the reapers, " The Lord be with you," and re- 
ceiving the answer, " The Lord bless thee," when 
suddenly he noticed Ruth, and said to the over- 
seer, " Who is this damsel ? " 

When it had been explained to him who 
she was, he went to her and said that she should 
continue to glean in his fields, and not go to 



164 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

any others ; and that the young men had been 
charged to treat her courteously. 

When she disclaimed any right to such excep- 
tional kindness he told her that he had heard 
how she had left her own country and friends 
because of her affection for Naomi, and that he 
knew the Lord would reward her for that. They 
talked together for a time, and Ruth told Boaz 
that his words were a great comfort to her. It 
was something to her to have found so quickly 
such a friend in this new, strange land. 

Before they parted, Boaz urged that at meal- 
time she should sit down near him, and share 
what he had to eat, instead of taking her place 
among the laborers. This she did; and partook 
of his parched barley, and dipped her bread in 
his vinegar. 

When she returned to her work, Boaz com- 
manded the young men who reaped to allow 
her to glean among the sheaves if she wished 
to do so, and to purposely let fall some hand- 
fuls of the grain for her. 

Thus Ruth gleaned in the fields of Boaz 
until all the harvest had been gathered. After 
this came the threshing. It was not done 



THE WINNING GIRL — RUTH. 165 

with great machines, as now, when hundreds 
of bushels can be threshed out in a day ; but 
it was a long and tedious process of treading 
out by oxen and of beating out by flails. In 
order to protect the grain, during this time. 
from prowling thieves who might seize it, Boaz 
found it advisable to himself remain upon the 
threshing-floor at night. 

Naomi by this time knew that Ruth must have 
a supporter and protector more able to do for 
her than could she. This should naturally, and 
by the custom of the land, have been the near- 
est relative of her husband, the one who had 
wronged them by retaining the land for him- 
self. So, knowing the ability of Boaz, and the 
kindness that he had already shown, she di- 
rected Ruth to go to the threshing-floor, and 
by a customary form claim the protection of 
this man, who was their next nearest relative 
after the one who had wronged them. Ruth 
did as directed, and Boaz promised that he 
would do the duty of a kinsman. 

That day Boaz went to the gate of the town, 
as was the custom, to transact public business 
at that place. There he hailed the other man, 



166 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

and told him that it was his duty to redeem 
the land, and restore it to their kinswomen. 
He replied that he had not the means to do 
this, and suggested that Boaz should do it him- 
self. This the latter agreed to ; and upon this 
the other took off his shoe and handed it to 
him, as a sign that he had transferred to Boaz 
his right. 

Boaz then announced to the authorities of 
the town that he had purchased the property 
of Elimelech, which should have come to the 
heirs of the now dead Mahlon and Chilion ; 
and that he had further assumed the responsi- 
bility, as the next of kin willing to do it, of 
marrying Ruth. This was a custom of that 
country; and it was considered a reproach to a 
woman if there were none of her dead hus- 
band's kin who were willing to make her his 
wife, The people and the elders who heard 
this announcement called down blessings on his 
head for his kindness. 

So Ruth became the wife of Boaz, the rich- 
est and most prominent man of the town. 
The law of Moses had forbidden marriage of 
Israelites with the children of Moab and Am- 



THE WINNING GIRL — RUTH. 167 

mon until the tenth generation. But Ruth did 
not come under that prohibition, for the ten 
generations had long been gone. More than 
that, by her marriage with Mahlon she had 
been " sanctified," that is, brought within the 
" congregation of Israel ; " so that there was no 
reason why Boaz, though a strict observer of 
the law, should not marry her. 

By this marriage Ruth became the ancestress 
of the great king David. 



168 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 



THE REMARKABLE BOY: 

DAVID. 

The story of David's early years is the most 
romantic of any told in the Bible. So strongly 
is it told, so absorbing is it in interest, so boldly 
does it stand out upon the page of sacred his- 
tory, so clearly is David's character denned 
against the background of scenery and environ- 
ment, that it has been well said, a 0f no hero 
of antiquity do we possess so lifelike a portrait." 

In his manhood David was the greatest of 
the Hebrew kings. As a boy he was hardly 
less great. But the two phases of his greatness 
differed, as the boy must always differ from the 
man. 

In personal appearance he was of great beauty ; 
his eyes were especially fine, his cheeks ruddy, 
his hair auburn ; his stature was moderate, for 
he was considerably lower that his brother Eliab, 
whose magnificent form attracted the attention 
of Samuel ; but he was of great strength and 



THE REMARKABLE BOY— DAVID. 169 

agility, and his swiftness was like that of the 
gazelle. In the thirty-third verse of the Eigh- 
teenth Psalm, he says of himself : " He maketh 
my feet like hinds' feet, and setteth me upon 
high places." His strength was such that he 
could break a bow of steel in his hands. The 
very next verse of the psalm quoted above says, 
" He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow 
of steel is broken by my arms." 

Strength and fitness for war were great qual- 
ities just then. In the time of the judges, 
Israel was disturbed by tribal jealousies, and by 
foreign enemies, who were chiefly the Philis- 
tines. This continued until Samuel arose and 
rallied the Israelites, when there was a great 
national and religious revival. Then Saul was 
made king, and the wars with the Philistines 
were carried on ; but Saul proved unequal to 
the task he had undertaken. 

Meanwhile the boy David had been born at 
Bethlehem. Jesse, his father, was a man of 
substance in that town, probably the leading- 
citizen of the place. Nahshon, the ancestor of 
the family, had been in the days of the jour- 
ney in the wilderness the head of the tribe of 



170 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

Judah ; a ' position afterwards given by David, 
while king, to his brother. Boaz, who had been 
the richest man about Bethlehem, and its sheik, 
was the grandfather of Jesse. Through Ruth, 
his great-grandmother, David had received a 
strain of Moabite blood. They were thus people 
of some consequence by descent, as well as by 
their own worth, and David, later in life, inher- 
ited some of the lands of his father. 

Jesse had eight sons and two daughters. The 
sons of David's sister Zeruiah afterwards became 
famous warriors in his army ; and these boys, 
his nephews, were of about his own age, and 
w T ere comrades of his youth. David was the 
youngest son of his father, and was born about 
the year 1085 B.C. While he was yet a youth, 
his father was already old. 

As the youngest son, it fell to David's lot 
to tend the sheep, an occupation held in small 
esteem by the Jews. On the desert steppes of 
Judah he led his flocks, and there developed 
the strength, courage, and endurance for which 
he was always notable. The out-door life, the 
dependence upon himself, the responsibility of 
caring for and protecting his flocks, all helped 



THE REMARKABLE BOY — DAVID. 171 

towards this ; and, although the occupation was 
a humble one, it was just what was needed to 
fit him for his later life. 

The pastures near Bethlehem had long been 
famous. They still retained their prestige a 
thousand years later, — at the time of the an- 
nouncement of the birth of Christ to the shep- 
herds on the hills near to the town. 

As a shepherd-boy, David wore a wallet about 
his neck ; in this he carried his food as well as 
stones for his sling ; he was also armed with 
a stick to drive off tramp clogs, the pests of 
all Oriental settlements ; he carried a sling for 
defence against wild beasts, or to guide the 
flocks by directing stones here and there, as 
is still the practice of shepherds in Palestine. 
Shepherds become strangely intimate with their 
sheep ; and the latter are guided by them, and 
depend upon and obey them in a way that we 
can hardly understand. By throwing a stone, 
or by a peculiar call, the shepherd-boy can send 
the sheep here and there with the greatest readi- 
ness and precision. 

This life under the open sky was a great 
thing for young David, and doubtless he enjoyed 



172 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

it and made the most of it. It hardened his 
constitution, so that in later days he was able 
to undergo almost all manner of exposure ; this 
he could net have done if he had been brought 
up wholly to books and a life in-doors. When 
persecuted by Saul, and when driven from his 
capital by Absalom, although he was then an 
old man, the hardships which he endured never 
seemed to affect him. Napoleon Bonaparte, whose 
experience upon the field and in the camp cer- 
tainly qualified him to speak, said that health 
was the first requisite for a general ; and David 
appears to have endured the privations which 
must have been incident to his many campaigns 
without ill effects. 

This shepherd's life also developed his religious 
genius and enthusiasm. He was constantly face 
to face with the works of God, and learned to 
read in these the divine handwriting. Alone 
under the stars, with no companions but his 
dumb brute friends, his mind was filled with 
awe and reverence for the Creator and Preserver 
of the earth and of man. 

"While favoring his physical well-being, and 
the growth of his religious nature, this manner 



THE REMARKABLE BOY — DAVID. 173 

of life was also beneficial in forming and develop- 
ing his great poetical powers. He drew inspira- 
tion from the scenes about him. His finest 
figures of speech were drawn from the associ- 
ations of his shepherd life, from his contact with 
the things constantly about him there, in the 
fields and on the hills. To fully appreciate the 
influence of all this, you must remember that 
David was one of the sweetest and truest poets 
that has ever lived. His songs have been dear 
to the hearts of more people than those of 
any other who has ever sung. " The sweet 
psalmist of Israel" has surpassed all others in 
popularity. 

It was during his shepherd life, also, that he 
became so proficient upon the harp that his 
fame as a musician spread far and wide. It is 
thought that the instrument upon which he 
played was the lyre, rather than that which we 
now call the harp. The latter, properly speak- 
ing, belongs to northern Europe. But both had 
the same origin, and this — the origin of all 
stringed instruments — may interest you when 
you are told that it is a development from the 
bow of a warrior. The twanging of a bowstring 



174 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

was the first hint of all the stringed instruments 
we have ever had. 

The warrior, returned from the wars, would 
relate his deeds or chant them, dramatically 
acting out his adventures. With bow in hand, 
he suited the action to the word, and pulled the 
string of his bow as if he were discharging an 
arrow. This sounded so well, and added so 
much to the recital, that he soon learned to 
accompany his narrative with many twangings 
of the string. Finally this became a part of 
the story, and was always expected. The next 
step was that of many warriors twanging their 
strings together, and this led to the chorus. 
The different weights of the strings caused 
them to give forth various notes. The first lyre 
was thus a bow, on which some ingenious man 
had put strings of various thicknesses. 

But the lyre was invented long before David's 
time; he improved upon it, however, in many 
ways, and it is on this account that he is 
entitled to credit as a musical genius. In the 
fifth verse of the sixth chapter of the Book of 
Amos we read, "They invent to themselves in- 
struments of music, like David." In the Book 



THE REMARKABLE BOY — DAVID. 175 

of Ecclesiastes are these words in regard to 
David, " With his whole heart he sung songs, 
and loved him that made him." Manly courage 
and strength and a love for music and poetry 
are not always thought of as being attributes 
of the same person. But there is no reason why 
they should not be, for one may easily be at 
once strong and gentle ; and we have shown 
you how David's life tended to give him both 
these qualities. 

As an instance of his fearlessness, one of his 
adventures as a boy among his .sheep is thus 
recorded : David said to Saul. " Thy servant 
kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, 
and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock : 
and I went out after him, and smote him, and 
delivered it out of his mouth : and when he 
arose against me. I caught him by his beard, 
and smote him, and slew him. Thy servant 
slew both the lion and the bear." 

He also made a name for himself, while yet 
a boy, by his prowess against the Philistines, 
who came down against Bethlehem and against 
his flocks. 

But one day there was an occurrence that 



176 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

changed the whole course of his thoughts, and 
transformed the boy in years into a man in 
seriousness. The king, Saul, had been rejected 
by the Lord, and Samuel had been told to 
anoint another as his successor. So Samuel 
went to Bethlehem, driving a bullock before 
him, and summoned the inhabitants to a sacri- 
fice ; but he said nothing of his other purpose. 
After the sacrifice he asked Jesse and his sons 
to the feast which was to conclude the cere- 
mony. He looked carefully upon the seven sons 
of Jesse who were present, and he thought 
Eliab, who was the tallest, must surely be the 
one whom he was to anoint. But the Lord 
told him not to look upon the outer man only, 
but upon the heart. Saul, who was head and 
shoulders above all the men of Israel, had been 
chosen for his great proportions, and he was a 
failure as a king. Now the choice was to be 
made for other qualities. 

When Samuel had inquired of Jesse if these 
were all his sons, he was told that there was 
another, the youngest, who was out in the field 
with the sheep. Apparently he was considered 
of so little importance that it had not been 



THE REMARKABLE BOY — DAVID. 177 

thought worth while to send for him to join 
them at the feast ; but on learning of him. 
Samuel commanded that he be brought. 

When he had arrived, the Lord announced to 
Samuel that this was the one who was to be 
chosen, and the prophet proceeded to anoint him 
as the future king. He does not seem to have 
explained to Jesse or to the others of the family 
the significance of the ceremony ; but Josephus 
relates that he took David aside, and whispered 
to him the meaning. So David returned to his 
sheep, to his harp, his sling, to his life in the 
fields and among the hills, with the wonderful 
news in his mind that he was one day to be 
king. And it is written that "the Spirit of the 
Lord came upon him from that day forward." 

Let us stop and think of this a moment. A 
simple shepherd-boy, humbly clad, living fru- 
gally, doing the commonest toil, and doing it 
faithfully, with the knowledge that he was one 
day to be king of a great nation ; and that he 
must keep this knowledge to himself, not even 
permitting his father and brothers to know of 
the great honor and glory in store for him, 
Here he was, almost the least regarded of any, 



178 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

but conscious of the fact that in a little time he 
should be the highest in the land. It required 
some self-command, some strength of character, 
to keep on quietly with his round of common 
duties, until the time when he should be per- 
mitted to reveal his real self, and assume the 
power and position for which he was destined. 
But while the boy perhaps became more sober 
and thoughtful, as he could hardly help doing 
in view of the responsibilities that awaited him, 
in no other way did it change him. For his 
life had been pure and wholesome ; he had been 
honest and industrious about his tasks, and so he 
remained. Nor, as we shall see, did he stop play- 
ing upon his harp because he was to be king. 

The first step for the boy away from his flocks 
and toward the newer and larger life that was 
to open for him, was when he left Bethlehem to 
play before Saul. 

The king by his sins had brought upon him- 
self a deep melancholy. A great gloom had 
settled upon him, and the spirit of the Lord had 
departed from him. Many means had been tried 
to distract him from those sad thoughts with 
which he was constantly haunted, but wholly 




The Remarkable Boy: David. 



THE REMARKABLE BOY — DAVID. 179 

without avail. Finally his courtiers advised that 
music be tried, and that they might be author- 
ized to find a musician of excellent ability. Saul 
saw a ray of hope in this, and told them to find 
one who could play well, in fact, the most excel- 
lent musician in his kingdom, and bring him 
to the court. One of his advisers, who was 
familiar with the great genius of David as a 
musician, recommended the lad, and the king 
therefore sent word to Jesse that David should 
be brought to him. In those days a king had 
but to command in order to be obeyed, and the 
youth was sent to the court at once. 

We can see from this that David must in- 
deed have been a musician of unusual ability, to 
have attracted the attention of the courtiers, 
and that his reputation had already gone abroad 
while he was quietly attending to his flocks. So 
David took his harp, on which he had been wont 
to play for his own amusement only, or to please 
his rustic friends, or to give expression to his 
own beautiful thoughts, and went to play before 
the greatest in the nation, — those who were ac- 
customed to hearing all the great and famous mu- 
sicians and singers of the time. We must suppose 



180 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

that he went with some diffidence, uncertain 
whether his plain little harp, and the tunes. that 
he loved, would have merit to please the king. 
But when he came before Saul he was determined 
to do the best that he could to soothe and com- 
fort him with his music. The king " loved him 
greatly;" for David was one of those gifted with 
much personal charm, who had merely to be 
seen in order to win affection and admiration. So, 
when the attacks of melancholy came upon Saul, 
David was again called to play upon his harp 
before the king ; and the beautiful music so 
refreshed Saul that he became well in mind, 
and the evil spirit departed from him. But, un- 
happily, the relief thus afforded was but tempo- 
rary, and had to be renewed many times. And 
after a time, finding that no permanent benefit 
to the king was to come from it, David was per- 
mitted to return to Bethlehem, and to his flocks. 
But now this even and happy course of life 
was about to be ended. More important matters 
than the tending of sheep were to come to him 
thenceforth. He was presently called from his 
occupation again to take supplies to his brothers 
in the camp. The Philistines were once more 



THE REMARKABLE BOY — I) AVID. 181 

making war upon Israel, and the opposing 
armies were gathered upon the mountain-sides 
at Shochoh, with the valley of Elah between 
them. In Saul's army were the three eldest 
sons of Jesse, — Eliab, Aminadab. and Shammah. 
Their father was anxious to know how his sons 
were, and to send them some supplies which 
would show that he kept them in remembrance ; 
David therefore was sent to them with pro- 
visions. When he arrived he found the armies 
arrayed against each other, and a singular 
incident about taking place. 

In the front of the line of the Philistines 
there appeared a great giant, Goliath of Gath. 
He was a man whose stature has rarely been 
equalled, it being above nine feet. For forty 
days this man had appeared at the same place 
and sounded forth his defiance to the armies of 
Israel, asking that a champion be chosen from 
among them and sent out to fight him. He 
proposed that the decision of the battle be left, 
not to a conflict of the armies, but to a single 
combat between himself and some champion 
from the ranks of Israel. But there had been 
no response, though Saul had promised to enrich 



182 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

the man who should slay the giant, and to give 
him his daughter in marriage, and to make his 
father's house free in Israel. 

The giant's offer was that of a braggart ; for 
he well knew there was no one who could hope 
to meet him successfully. His great size and 
strength would have rendered any contest un- 
equal, for an ordinary man would have been 
but a plaything in his hands. 

When David understood the situation he was 
moved by a great desire to accept the challenge 
himself. He offered to fight the giant, but was 
ridiculed by his brothers, who thought it pre- 
posterous that a mere boy from the fields should 
attempt that which no man in all the army 
could hope to do. Nevertheless he went before 
the king with his proposal, and answered the 
objections that were made by recounting his 
adventure with the bear and the lion. Saul was 
very anxious that the giant should be killed, 
but did not want the lad sacrificed when the 
case seemed so hopeless ; but at last he unwill- 
ingly gave his consent, and in order to protect 
him as much as possible in the conflict, offered 
the boy his own armor. David tried it on, but 



THE REMARKABLE BOY — DAVID. 183 

found that it would only be a hindrance to 
him, as it was so large and heavy ; besides he 
was not accustomed to such methods of war- 
fare. He therefore asked that he be permitted 
to choose his own method of fighting. 

Presently the onlooking armies saw a youth 
walking bravely out from the ranks of Israel. 
His way led him across the brook which ran 
through the valley, and there he stooped and 
picked five smooth pebbles from its bottom. As 
he drew near the giant, the huge Philistine dis- 
dained him, and asked scornfully, — 

" Am I a dog that thou comest to me with 
staves ? " 

David carried a staff in his hand with his 
sling, and the giant thought that he meant to 
attack him with this slender weapon. Then he 
cursed David by his gods, and said to him, — 

" Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the 
fowls of the air and to the beasts of the field." 

But David was not intimidated, and told the 
boaster that he came to him in the name of 
the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel whom 
he had defied. When Goliath, angered at this 
defiance, started toward him, David did not turn 



184 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

away, but ran forward to meet him. As he 
advanced, he put his hand into the wallet which 
was about his neck, and into which he had put 
the stones he had taken from the brook ; draw- 
ing a stone from the wallet, he slung it, and 
struck the Philistine in the forehead. The 
boy's aim was not only true, but strong; for 
the stone sunk into the giant's forehead, and 
he fell on his face to the earth. 

At this sudden and unexpected ending of the 
conflict, which had seemed so unequal, and 
where all the advantage had apparently been 
upon the other side, a great cry of dismay 
arose from the army of the Philistines, while a 
shout of applause went up from the army of 
Israel. David stood over the fallen giant, and, 
taking the latter' s own great sword, cut off 
Goliath's head. And now, their champion, in 
whose strength they had reposed their confi- 
dence of victory, being dead, the Philistines fled, 
and were pursued with great slaughter. 

After this achievement, David was taken per- 
manently into the service of the king, and was 
made captain of his body-guard, which was a 
post of great honor. Then began, also, the beau- 



THE REMARKABLE BOY — DAVID. 185 

tiful and romantic friendship between him and 
the king's son Jonathan, which ended only with 
the death of the prince. This victory, however, 
brought upon David the envy of Saul ; for the 
crowds and the women-singers unwisely sang that 
Saul had slain his thousands, and David his tens 
of thousands. " So Saul eyed David from that 
day on." 

The first evidence of his jealousy of David 
was shown when the spirit of gloom came upon 
him again. Thereupon David was summoned to 
soothe him with his music, as he had done in 
times past ; but the king cast his javelin at him. 

In fulfilment of his promise to the one who 
should slay Goliath, Saul offered him his daugh- 
ter Merab for his wife ; but David made an 
excuse, and she was given to another. After 
that, Michal, a younger daughter, grew to love 
David, and he wished to marry her. When this 
was reported to Saul, he was pleased, for he 
thought she was of a disposition to be a snare 
to him. Before giving her, however, the king 
demanded that David should slay a hundred 
Philistines, hoping that In the attempt he should 
be killed. But he came back soon with, the 



186 BIBLE BOYS AN I) GIRLS 

proof that he had slain two hundred of the 
enemy, and Michal was given him for his wife. 

Saul's hatred was now such that he attempted 
to enlist Jonathan in the murder of David. 
But Jonathan was true to his friend, and gave 
him a signal by which he should know whether 
it was safe for him to return to the king's house. 
Under the influence of Jonathan the king's mood 
changed, and David came back in peace. But 
again Saul cast at him his spear; and when he 
fled, the king sent messengers to David's house 
to find him. But Michal had warned her hus- 
band, and assisted him to escape. 

David now fled to Ramah to be with Samuel. 
When the king learned this, he sent messengers 
to take him ; but they failed in their mission, 
and Saul went himself. But the spirit of the 
Lord again prevented harm to David. 

David now sought Jonathan ; and the prince, 
after another interview with his father, warned 
his friend of the king's continued anger, and 
advised David to go away beyond the reach 
of Saul. Acting on this advice, David fled to 
Gath, where he was at first pleasantly received ; 
but he afterward found himself among enemies, 



. THE REMARKABLE BOY— DAVID. 187 

and finally saved himself by a subterfuge. Leav- 
ing Gath, he went to the cave of Adullam ; 
there he was joined by his father and brothers 
and many discontented people, about four hun- 
dred in all. He then made an excursion into 
the land of Moab, in order to find a refuge for 
his aged parents. 

Saul now took the field against David and 
his followers. . But David, not wishing to come 
to open warfare with the king, hid himself and 
his men ; and, in the night, he crept from his 
hiding-place, and entering the tent of Saul, cut 
off a piece of the king's skirt ; then, after Saul 
had awaked, David called to him, and exhibited 
the piece of his garment as proof that he had 
no intentions against the life of the king, other- 
wise he would have slain him while he slept. 
Saul was touched by this generosity, and once 
more swore that he would do David no harm. 

But again he forgot his oath, and again 
started in pursuit of David. Again the latter 
went to the king's tent while he was asleep, 
and took the spear and cruse of water from 
beside his head. In the morning he called to 
Saul, and declared the absence of evil intentions 



188 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

against him. Once more the king repented, and 
swore that he would do him no harm. Then 
David again went to Gath, and Saul gave up 
further pursuit. 

At this time the Philistines began another 
war against the Israelites. Saul called out his 
armies, and made ready for battle. On the 
night previous he consulted a witch to find out 
whether he should be successful.. And as he 
stood there, he was startled by the apparition 
of the prophet Samuel, who had died shortly 
before, and who told the king that he should 
lose his life in the battle which was about to 
take place. In accordance with this prophecy, 
in the great battle on Mount Gilboa, Saul and 
his sons were slain. David, upon hearing of 
their fate, sang that famous lament which is 
one of the most beautiful elegies ever composed, 
and which you can read in the first chapter of 
The Second Book of Kings. 

Saul being now dead, David was made king 
of Judah ; but he did not obtain the allegiance 
of the whole kingdom until some years later, 
when he was thirty years of age. At this point, 
we can leave the story of his boyhood. 



THE WITCH GIRL — ZEVPHANIAH. 189 



THE WITCH GIRL: 

ZEUPHANIAH. 

Endor is an ancient town of Palestine. It 
belonged originally to the Philistines, the enemies 
of the Jews ; but in Saul's time it belonged to 
the tribe of Manasseh. It was in the reign of 
King Saul that the place came into prominence 
because of the king's remarkable meeting with 
the woman who is commonly referred to as the 
witch of Endor, but whose true name was 
Zeuphaniah. It was situated near Mount Tabor, 
within four miles of which, and toward the 
south, there existed, as late as the second century 
after Christ, a large village of the same name. 
There is still a village, and one that is still 
called Endor, existing in the same vicinity to- 
day ; but its location is four miles to the north- 
ward of the mountain. It is a miserable little 
hamlet, having but the single redeeming feature, 
that it commands a magnificent view both of 
the mountain and the valley round about. 



190 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

The declivity of Mount Tabor is full of caves ; 
the houses of the people who live there are 
principally walls built about the entrances to 
these caverns, so that the inhabitants become 
almost cave-dwellers. 

It was such a house or cave as these that the 
witch of En dor occupied when Saul went to 
visit her. A modern writer who has been there 
tells that, even now, old hags grin out at trav- 
ellers from the yawning mouths of these black- 
ened habitations, looking more like witches than 
like women. The cattle are also stalled in 
these wretched hovels, sharing them with their 
masters, just as in the days of Saul ; and just 
such calves are kept there as that one which 
was killed for his meat. There are some por- 
tions of the world where habits and customs 
change but little, and where life may be studied 
to-day almost exactly as it existed thousands 
of years ago. Endor and its vicinity are of 
this unchanging sort. 

The character of whom we are about to tell 
you was called a witch, and claimed to be one. 
But there never really was any such thing as 
witchcraft, although the people at that time 



THE WITCH GIRL — ZEUPHAXIAH 191 

believed in it, as many others have since. It 
was all more or less a fraud, and the people 
were imposed upon by tricks and deceptions, 
or by their own fears. 

Perhaps this woman earned her reputation 
because she lived in a cavern, and looked as 
witches are supposed to look, and as the traveller 
whom we have quoted describes the women 
there as appearing now. 

This woman, or witch as we shall have to 
call her while telling this story, was once a little 
girl. As we have told you, her real name was 
Zeuphaniah. You can scarcely think of her as 
a little girl, or believe that the miserable old 
yellow hag. who lived in a cave, and existed by 
fraud, by playing upon the fears and ignorance 
and superstitions of her fellow-beings, was ever 
a bright, innocent young child. Is it not 
strange that such a creature should ever have 
been a voting; girl, loved and fondled bv her 
parents, and admired by her boy and girl play- 
mates ? Do you suppose that her cheeks were 
ever rosy, and that her ugly eyes were ever 
bright and kind ? It is certainly difficult to 
imagine this ; nevertheless it is true. And it is 



192 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

because of this amazing contrast between what 
she once was and what she became, that we 
call your attention to the fact that this old hag 
was ever a young girl. 

It might, indeed, have been owing to the fact 
that she had once been young and beautiful 
and loved and disappointed that her life had 
taken such a wrong turn. No doubt there 
are frequently tragedies in the lives of such 
persons, which, if we could know them, would 
explain to us why they have become as they 
are. Sad experiences have come to them, and 
thrown them into despair and recklessness, so 
that they have come to care little for their fel- 
low-men, or for the opinions that others have 
of them, and so they have gone far down the 
steep places of sin. While there have been sor- 
cerers in all nations, or rather those who pre- 
tended to be such, it is true that the majority 
of those who pretended to such powers, outside 
the savage nations, have been women. We 
may therefore suppose that tragedies in their 
lives have been the means of driving them to 
such occupations. 

What could have been the history of this 



THE WITCH GIRL — ZEUPHANIAH. 193 

witch of Enclor, from the days of her fresh girl- 
hood, up through her womanhood, to the time 
when we find her, an old, withered witch, liv- 
ing by fraud and deceit, hiding among the 
caves for fear of the law of the king against 
her kind ? Who can say ? No doubt hers was a 
sad story ; full of disappointments, of dark pas- 
sages, of suffering, of sorrow, of death. 

Her youth had faded, her beauty was gone ; 
and she was left muttering over her fire, mix- 
ing mysterious decoctions of herbs, dealing in 
strange phrases, which were supposed to cast 
a spell upon man or beast. In spite of the 
decree of the king, there were people who re- 
sorted to her in the dark hours of the night 
to ask her questions, to get from her myste- 
rious herbs and poisons, to ask questions of de- 
parted friends, to question her about their luck 
or fortunes. 

We read of her, especially, that she was a 
"woman of ob." According to the most accept- 
able interpretation, this means that she was a 
ventriloquist. In the dim light of her cavern, 
after mutterings and incantations, and drawing 
of dark circles, and all the rest of the mum- 



194 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

meries of her class, she was accustomed to an- 
swer her own questions by means of this trick 
or power of ventriloquism. 

Some of you may need to be told that this 
is the art of throwing the voice, or seeming to 
throw it, so that it sounds as if it were an- 
other voice, at a distance from the person who 
is really speaking. An expert ventriloquist can 
make it appear that some one is calling from 
the cellar, or from outside the window, or from 
a corner, when really it is his own voice. This 
witch had this art ; and she was accustomed to 
trick those who came to her for the purpose of 
conversing with dead friends, by making her 
own voice come from out the dark places of 
the cave, where the dead were supposed to 
have come to give their answers. 

On the occasion when she was sought out by 
King Saul in order that he might consult with 
her regarding the issue of the battle that was 
to take place the next day, she received him 
and three companions in her cave. Not until 
she had been assured that they would not re- 
port her as a witch to the authorities, would 
she consent to have anything to do with them. 



THE WITCH GIRL — ZEUPHANIAH. 195 

But when assured that they would not expose 
her, she asked them what they wanted. Saul 
answered that he wished her to call up the 
spirit of Samuel, the dead prophet. When she 
had resorted to her usual tricks, and expected 
to use her art of ventriloquism to deceive her 
guest, she was as much or more amazed than 
Saul himself when the Lord really did send the 
prophet to speak to the king. When she saw 
Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice ; and 
then she spake to Saul, saying, "Why hast thou 
deceived me ? For thou art Saul." 

The king and his companions had disguised 
themselves before coming to her, and she had 
not known who her visitor was ; and now that 
she had discovered him she was afraid, for it 
was against his own laws that she was now 
practising her arts, and she thought he had 
come to spy upon and to punish her. 

But the king told her not to be afraid, and 
to tell to him what she saw. Then she said, 
" I saw gods ascending out of the earth.' , 

The king asked, " What form is he of ? " 

And she answered, " An old man cometh up, 
and he is covered with a mantle." 



196 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

Then Saul knew it was Samuel, and he bowed 
to the ground ; and Samuel said to him, " Why 
hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up?" 

Saul answered, " I am sore distressed ; for 
the Philistines make war against me, and God 
is departed from me, and answereth me no 
more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams ; there- 
fore I have called thee, that thou mayest make 
known to me what I shall do." 

Then said Samuel, " Wherefore dost thou ask 
of me, seeing the Lord is departed from thee ? 
The Lord hath done to him, as he spake by 
me : for the Lord hath rent the kingdom out 
of thine hand, and given it to thy neighbor, 
even to David. Moreover the Lord will also 
deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the 
Philistines : and to-morrow shalt thou and thy 
sons be with me : the Lord shall also deliver 
the host of Israel into the hand of the Philis- 
tines." 

Saul was so overwhelmed by this awful an- 
nouncement, that on the very next day himself 
and his sons should die, and his army be 
defeated, that he swooned upon the ground. 

Then the woman, herself in mortal terror at 




The Witch Girl: Zetjphaniah. 



THE WITCH GIRL — ZEUPHANIAH. 197 

this wonderful tiling that had happened in her 
cave, so far beyond any of the mysteries with 
which she was accustomed to impose upon the 
credulous who came to her, worked with Saul 
that he might be recovered. She told him not 
to blame her, that she had only done what he 
asked of her, and that she had trusted her life 
in his hands. 

Now we see how some human kindness could 
remain even in a creature like herself. The 
witch offered food to the king, for he was in 
an exhausted condition. He refused to eat, but 
his companions entreated that he should, and 
he at last consented. The woman then killed 
a fat calf which she had at the door, a,ncl made 
some bread, and brought the nourishing food 
to the king, and to his men, and fed them. 
And after they had eaten, they crept away, 
horrified, from that mysterious interview with 
the dead. 

On the next day the prophecy was fulfilled ; 
the army of Israel was defeated, and Saul and 
his sons perished in the battle. 

That night the curtain of obscurity dropped 
upon that witch and her cave, and we know 



198 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

nothing more of her. Perhaps that mysterious 
hour when God interfered, and, for once, really 
spoke through his servant in a witch's cave, 
caused her to reflect, and made her a changed 
woman. We can hardly think any one would 
have been able to pursue the miserable traffic, 
and continue in her deceptions, after having 
witnessed such a sight as she then did. Possibly 
she lingered on for years in her cave, under 
the shadow of that wonderful hour when Samuel 
had risen and spoken the fate of Saul and his 
sons, and at last lay down in death in the same 
place. Perhaps she was so awed that she fled 
from that place, and lived a better life elsewhere. 
We do not know. 

It may interest you, before we leave this 
story, to be told something of witchcraft in 
general, as it was regarded in ancient times. 

Little foundation as there was for it, witch- 
craft has in the past been almost universally 
believed in. This superstition was prevalent 
in England in Shakspere's day. Under the 
Roman law it was forbidden to remove a neigh- 
bor's crops by incantations ; so you may see that 
even the government recognized and attempted 



THE WITCH GIRL — ZEUPHANIAH. 199 

to control its practice. The employment of 
magical arts was strictly prohibited ; and magi- 
cians were liable to be burned alive, and those 
who consulted them to be crucified. The pos- 
session of books of magic and the administration 
of love-potions were severely punished. The 
Emperor Constantine punished sorcery with ban- 
ishment or death. It was forbidden either to 
teach or to learn magic arts. In the fourteenth 
century Pope John XXII. issued a bull against 
witchcraft ; so you can see that the superstition 
remained in strong force to that time. In our 
own country witchcraft trials and punishments 
were common up to a much later date. 

Conjurers and witches were supposed to have 
power to raise the devil in person, and compel 
him to do their will by magic words and incan- 
tations. Sometimes they bargained with him 
to do as they wished. Sometimes they took 
dead bodies from the grave to make charms 
from the bones or the skin. The interpretation 
of dreams was a common trick, of which you 
have a number of examples in this book. They 
pretended to call up the ghosts of the dead, as 
did the witch of Endor, to give oracles, to dis- 



200 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

cover hidden treasures, or to enter men's bodies 
either to cure or to inflict disease. 

The sorcerer claims to be able to bewitch 
others to sickness or to death, and to do a vast 
number of things that we all know are beyond 
human power. 

These beliefs are very ancient, and they are 
still found among savages. In Australia, there 
is much of it ; and, among the natives, almost 
nothing is thought impossible to the so-called 
magicians. It is believed the sorcerers can 
become invisible ; that they can enter men's 
bodies and consume their flesh ; come near when 
one is asleep, and bewitch their victim to death 
by pointing at him the leg-bone of a kangaroo ; 
call up a demon who will strike him behind 
the neck with a club ; get a lock of hair, and 
roast it over the fire with fat until the owner 
pines away and dies. They believe also that 
the sorcerer can sit beside a sick person and 
charm the disease away, or draw it out with 
a string or in the shape of a spear-head or a 
fishbone. 

In the Pacific Islands are sorcerers who live 
by making diseases, by burning some part of 



THE WITCH GIRL — ZEUPHANIAH 201 

the clothing or the hair of the one whom they 
wish to afflict. They are employed by persons 
who are at enmity with others, and wish to 
harm them without being found out. 

When America was discovered, the early voy- 
agers found sorcerers here who threw themselves 
into an ecstasy by taking a narcotic powder, 
and their ravings were supposed to be conver- 
sations with departed spirits. Witchcraft with 
herbs and hair, the use of narcotics to produce 
ecstasy, drumming and rattling to produce men- 
tal excitement, are still common in the wilder 
portions of Brazil. The medicine-man of our 
own North American Indians uses a bag made 
from the skin of some animal, and drums and 
rattles to ward off or to cure disease ; but he 
also uses healing vegetables, of which the Indians 
have much knowledge. 

The ancient Egyptian formulae for magic 
are still known. Witchcraft was universal in 
Babylon, and the wonder-workers there claimed 
that pounded lizards and the blood of animals 
that were born dead had magic power. Certain 
gems with mysterious words inscribed were 
supposed to have magical properties. In Alex- 



202 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

andria the Greek word Abraxas was a form 
much used ; and Shem-hammphorasch is the 
spell which is attributed by legend to King 
Solomon. The pentagram, which is a figure 
having five lines, has also played an important 
part in magic, and is referred to by the poet 
Tennyson as " The wizard pentagram." 

Sorcerers were also supposed to have magic 
power over themselves as well as others, even 
to the extent of being able to turn themselves 
into wolves and cats. 

A chief part of the business of the sorcerer 
was to converse with spirits, and gain their 
help. In the remoter portions of England the 
ignorant people still believe that a cow or a 
child may be bewitched by being " overlooked " 
by a witch. In the South Sea knots are untied 
in order to relieve pain supposed to arise from 
witches having tied knots in the internal organs 
of man or beast. 

The power of expelling demons was a com- 
mon belief. Witches claimed that they could 
hurt and infect men and beasts, vines and 
plants ; steal young children out of their cra- 
dles, and put deformed ones in their places ; 



THE WITCH GIRL — ZEtTPHANIAH. 208 

make men victorious, fortunate, or eloquent ; 
represent dead men's shapes; change themselves 
into several forms according to their pleasure ; 
make fire so that it would not burn ; find 
thieves and stolen goods ; show absent faces in 
a glass ; stanch blood ; cure gont, epilepsy, the 
bite of mad dogs, toothache, melancholy ; and 
even make men immortal. They claimed to 
do these things by spells, cabalistic words, 
charms, characters, images, amulets, philters, 
and incantations. 

It was of people of this sort that the Bible 
spoke when it forbade that a witch should live. 
It does not teach that there was any reality in 
their claims to supernatural power. It only 
aimed to protect credulous people against the 
arts and tricks of frauds. And it was to a 
witch of this sort, and not to one who really 
possessed any magical cunning, that Saul went 
in the cave at Endor. 



204 BIBLE BOYS AN I) GIRLS. 



THE WORST BOY: 

ABSALOM. 

The worst boy of Bible times was also the 
handsomest. This latter was, from his earliest 
youth, his distinguishing characteristic. There 
were other comely boys, — Moses, for instance, 
being beautiful, as we know from various ref- 
erences to him. David, as a young man, was 
ruddy and of a beautiful countenance. But no 
other one in the Bible is described with the 
same enthusiasm, so far as personal appearance 
goes, as Absalom ; for it was he who was the 
worst boy. "In all Israel there was none to be 
so much praised for his beauty : from the sole 
of his foot even to the crown of his head there 
was no blemish in him." 

Absalom was a son of the great king David, 
and the only one who was of royal blood on 
both sides; his mother, Maacah, being the daugh- 
ter of Talmai, the king of Geshur, a small prin- 
cipality in the north-east of Bashan. 



THE WORST BOY — ABSALOM. 205 

He had yet another great advantage besides 
his beauty and his royal birth, and that was 
his charming manner and fascinating address. 
You may judge how charming he was, and 
what an influence he exerted over people with 
whom he came in contact, from the fact that 
when two old seasoned warriors like David and 
Joab were angry with him, and thought they 
ought to remain so, — having good cause for 
their anger, — they were afraid to trust them- 
selves to see him. because they knew very well 
he could win them over to do anything he 
might ask. 

With these natural advantages, and with all 
that his father was willing and glad to do for 
him in addition, he might have grown up to 
be a very excellent and useful man ; but instead, 
he was bad — very, very bad. 

This evil tendency in him was helped forward 
by the circumstances under which his boyhood 
was spent. These were favorable for the devel- 
opment of his natural selfishness and vanity. The 
king had a number of wives, each with a sepa- 
rate home ; and, among these several branches of 
the royal family, jealousies and rivalries had the 



206 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

chance to spring up. Each wife was ambitious 
that her son should succeed to the throne ; and 
thus the brothers came to regard each other as 
natural enemies, whose existence was the only 
hindrance to their own inheritance of royal 
privileges. The mother of Absalom especially 
had this feeling that her son had a greater claim 
than any of the others, as she was a princess. 

Absalom was the idol of his father, who in- 
dulged his every wish, and gave him everything 
that money could procure. He was also spoiled 
on account of his personal appearance and 
talents, being continually praised and flattered. 
In the palace all his whims were submitted to, 
and he had hosts of servants who obeyed him 
in everything. Thus he grew up self-willed and 
knowing no restraint. We are therefore to 
remember that the worst boy in the Bible was 
to some extent the product of excessive parental 
partiality and indulgence. 

It would have been better for Israel and for 
Absalom if he had been endowed with less of 
personal charm, just as it would have been 
better for Scotland and for Mary Stuart if that 
wonderful woman had been less fascinating. 



THE WORST BOY— ABSALOM. 207 

Yet beauty is always apt to be too strong for 
the conclusions of wisdom ; as in the case of 
the senators of Troy, when the question whether 
they should fight for Helen was under consider- 
ation. She was brought before them ; and the 
aged senators had no sooner looked upon her, 
than they declared they would fight all the 
Greeks in the world rather than give her up. 
This same subtle power, this irresistible fasci- 
nation, Absalom possessed ; otherwise his career 
would be quite unintelligible. 

While his entire youth was vain and selfish, 
the first definite crime that is chargeable to 
this bad boy was the murder of his brother 
Amnon, who was the eldest son of David, and 
the heir to the throne. 

It is true that Absalom had a special reason 
for hatred against this brother,, who had com- 
mitted a great sin ; but the true reason why 
he destroyed Amnon was to get him out of the 
way of the succession. 

In order to accomplish the assassination, 
Absalom invited the king and all his sons to 
the annual sheep-shearing feast on his farm, 
a feast that was like our own Harvest Home. 



208 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

There was nothing unusual in this ; but David 
declined to go on the plea of the great trouble 
and expense it would be to Absalom to enter- 
tain him and his courtiers. If the king had 
gone, it would have been with all the pomp 
and splendor that befitted his station. 

In this we see that times have not changed 
greatly, in some respects, since that day ■ for 
now kings and queens and emperors cannot go 
quietly about, and enjoy themselves as other 
people do, but must always take with them 
their companions and courtiers and a long train 
of servants, and make a great deal' of trouble 
and expense for every one with whom they come 
in contact. 

But while he would not go himself, David 
gave his consent for his sons to do so ; and even 
when refusing to be one at the feast, he still 
exhibited his affection for this favorite son by his 
manner of declining, by the reason he gave for 
doing so, and by his blessing at parting. The 
clinging nature of the love of the old warrior is 
shown in the narrative, and we can see his eyes 
follow with pride the magnificent form of the 
youth as he went out from the royal presence. 



THE WORST BOY — ABSALOM. 209 

The sheep-shearing offered many attractions 
for the princes ; fur all the king's sons accepted 
the invitation of their brother. They set off 
on their mules for his country-seat, and after 
they arrived they took part with the people of 
the prince in all the merry-making. 

Now was the time and opportunity for Absa- 
lom to carry out the evil purpose for which 
he had asked them to be his truest s. He gave 
orders to his servants that when Amnon was 
merry with wine, and he should give the signal, 
they should smite him. In the midst of the 
feast, and when Amnon had drunken overmuch, 
the cowardly assassination took place, just as 
Absalom had commanded. 

Though this was the first direct crime of the 
youth, it was a deed of unusual atrocity. Am- 
non was heir to the throne ; the deed, therefore, 
partook of the nature of treason. It was the 
murder of a brother, and was therefore an 
unnatural crime. It was a selfish crime, for 
it was done for Absalom's own advancement. 
It was committed under, his own roof, where 
the laws of hospitality, that are recognized even 
by savage nations, ought to have been a guar- 



210 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

anty for the safety of an invited guest. It was 
done in the most cowardly manner, after Amnon 
had been made partly drunk. And it was cow- 
ardly again, for it was done by the hand of a 
servant, Absalom not even venturing the peril 
of his own person to accomplish his end. 

After this murder, the other princes, terrified 
lest there was a plot to kill them all, fled to 
their mules, and galloped back to the city. The 
report of the crime was not long in getting to 
the king. He first heard that all his sons were 
dead, and he was overwhelmed with sorrow. 
But the correct story soon reached him ; and he 
was rejoiced that, bad as the facts were, he had 
only lost one son. 

Absalom concluded, from his own sense, or 
from what his servants told him, that it would 
not be well for him to return to Jerusalem. 
He therefore fled to his mother's father, Talmai, 
king of Geshur, with whom he sought and found 
protection. His father did not undertake any 
pursuit, nor did he think of dealing with him as 
he would have done with any other criminal. 

As he received no invitation to return, Absa- 
lom remained with his grandfather for three 



THE WORST BOY — ABSALOM. 211 

years. During all this time his father did not 
see him. Yet the heart of David yearned for his 
wayward son, and his great love survived even 
this crime ; for it is recorded that " the soul of 
king David longed to go forth to Absalom." But 
while he might have forgiven and welcomed the 
young man back if he had considered only his 
own wishes, he was withheld from such a course 
by public sentiment. 

At last Joab, the general of the armies, who 
had much influence with David, and who had 
concluded that his own chances would be better 
with Absalom than with any other of the heirs 
to the throne, in the event of the death of the 
king, who was now becoming old, induced David, 
by strategy, to declare himself on the side of 
mercy; and, finally, boldly asked him to send 
for Absalom, knowing well that the king's heart 
was only too ready to entertain such a propo- 
sition. 

Thinking that, with the lapse of time, public 
feeling in regard to the murder of Aninon bad 
now become less strong, David gave his consent, 
saying, " Go, therefore, bring the young man 
Absalom again," 



212 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

So Absalom was brought back to his own 
country. He was not permitted to enter Jeru- 
salem, but was kept outside the city at his own 
place. The king, recognizing that he ought not 
to openly condone so great an offence as had 
been the crime of his son, and feeling that he 
might be too weak to resist the charm of Ab- 
salom's presence, ordered the prince to his own 
house, and would not let him see his face. 

For two years after this, Absalom lived on 
his pasture-farm without seeing his father. Fi- 
nally he induced Joab to visit him, and then 
persuaded him to intercede again with the king. 
As a result of this, David consented at last to 
see his beautiful boy, whom now he "had not 
looked upon for five long years. " And when 
he had called for Absalom, he came to the 
king, and bowed himself on his face before the 
king : and the king kissed Absalom." 

The reconciliation was thus effected because 
of the great heart of his father, who, in spite 
of grievous faults, was one of the grandest and 
most loving men who ever lived. We would 
naturally suppose that now, having been the 
recipient of this unparalleled magnanimity, Ab- 



THE WORST BOY — ABSALOM. 213 

salom would have been deeply grateful, repented 
of his faults, and tried to be useful to his 
father. But, instead of this, he began in a very 
short time to undermine the throne of his too 
kind parent, that he might establish himself 
as king in his place. 

He now exerted his extraordinary powers of 
fascination to seduce people from their alle- 
giance to the king, and to transfer it to him- 
self. His father was growing old, and had 
neglected, in later years, his habit of free inter- 
course with his subjects. Instead of giving his 
time to adjusting personally the differences 
among them, he lived somewhat aloof, and had 
surrounded himself with much of the ceremony 
and splendor of an Oriental court. The people 
resented this ; and. forgetful of the fact that it 
was David to whom they owed the conquest 
of their enemies and their powerful national 
existence, they were ready to complain of what 
they considered his neglect. 

Finding them in this state of mind, Absalom 
basely took advantage of it to the further in- 
jury of his father. He went early to the gate 
where the people came with their grievances, 



214 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

and talked with the malcontents, and expressed 
an assumed sympathy. He would declare to 
each man, privately, that he was in the right 
of his matter, and say to all, " Oh that I were 
made judge in the land, that every man which 
hath any suit or cause might come unto me, 
and I would do him justice ! " 

When any came, he took them by the hand, 
and kissed them, and made them feel that he was 
their especial friend. So, by his craft and policy, 
by his lies and insinuations, and by the charm 
of his wonderful beauty and fascinating manner, 
this rascal prince " stole the hearts of the people." 

Having accomplished this much, he now, under 
pretence of going to Hebron, the old capital and 
chief town of the tribe of Judah, to perform a 
vow, obtained the consent of the king to leave 
Jerusalem for that place. Having arrived there, 
he sent spies all over the land, notifying the people 
that he would proclaim himself king at Hebron. 

He summoned Ahithophel, a very subtle man, 
as his adviser. Soon a great multitude of fol- 
lowers had gathered about him ; and a public 
feast was celebrated at Hebron, and Absalom 
was there proclaimed king. 



THE WORST BOY — ABSALOM. 215 

When the report of these things reached David, 
he at once, contrary to the warlike spirit of his 
earlier years, prepared to flee from Jerusalem 
without striking a blow. Followed by his wives 
and a great company, he went, weeping' and with 
bare feet, from the capital he had made so glo- 
rious, over the Mount of Olives. 

Thus, with perfect ease, Absalom gained access 
to Jerusalem. David passed over Jordan with 
his followers to Mahanaim, where lie was re- 
ceived with great kindness, and where multi- 
tudes gathered about his standard. Encouraged 
by this friendliness and help, the warlike spirit 
of the king awoke from the lethargy into which 
he had been cast by the sudden blow of the 
rebellion of his son, and he bestirred himself to 
get his array in order. 

With Absalom now in Jerusalem was Hushai, a 
friend of David, who was there only to further the 
king's interest. Ahithophel had counselled that 
Absalom should remain in Jerusalem and send 
some one else to lead the army to an immediate 
attack. By the advice of Hushai this counsel was 
overcome ; and, in its place, was accepted the sug- 
gestion of Hushai himself, — that Absalom should 



216 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

wait until he was ready to lead the troops in 
person. Thus David was given time to collect 
an army and prepare for the approaching battle. 

One division of the king's army was placed 
under the command of Joab ; a second under 
Abishai, Joab's brother ; and a third under Ittai 
the Gittite. All these were old warriors ; and 
as Hushai had said truly to Absalom, u Thou 
knowest thy father and his men, that they be 
mighty men, and they be chafed in their minds, 
as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field : and 
thy father is a man of war." So it was an 
army of old warriors that Absalom was to 
encounter, though he had the advantage of 
numbers. 

The followers of David would not permit him 
to run any personal risk by going into the battle, 
and they wished him to guard the city so that 
in case of defeat they would have a place into 
which they might retreat. He yielded to this 
counsel and remained behind, but gave a parting 
admonition to his three generals, in the hearing 
of the people : " Deal gently for my sake with 
the young man, even with Absalom." 

The battle now went forward, taking place 



THE WORST BOY — ABSALOM. 217 

in a great forest called the Wood of Ephraim. 
There was immense slaughter, Absalom's loss 
alone being put at twenty thousand men. 

The army of the rebels suffered quick defeat, 
and was put to flight. In attempting to escape 
from some of David's followers, Absalom dashed 
on his mule under some of the trees where the 
limbs hung low, and his long hair became en- 
tangled in the branches of a great terebinth. He 
was lifted off his seat, while his beast ran on 
and left him suspended in the air. 

When his plight was reported to Joab, the latter 
declared he would have given the messenger ten 
shekels of silver and a girdle if he had slain 
him. He was reminded of the instructions of 
the king ; but Joab had no patience with rebels, 
although he had at one time tried to make 
favor for himself with Absalom. He thought 
it best to make sure work of the future while 
he had the opportunity. So he said hastily, "I 
may not tarry with thee ; " and, taking three 
darts in his hand, set off to find the tree from 
which the prince was hanging. Having arrived 
there, without hesitation he thrust the darts 
through the heart of Absalom. Then he blew 



218 BIBLE BOYS AND GIBLS. 

his trumpet for the recall of his men who were 
still in pursuit of the defeated foe, and ordered 
the body of the leader of the rebels cut down 
and cast into a pit, where it was covered with 
stones like that of any common criminal. 

Runners carried to David the message of the de- 
feat of his enemies ; but instead of being rejoiced 
thereat, the king's first question was, " Is Absa- 
lom safe ? " 

When he had learned the fate of the unfor- 
tunate youth, he went weeping to his chamber, 
uttering that pathetic lament which, after all 
these centuries, seems the finest expression of 
broken-hearted sorrow. His grief was so great 
that he shut himself in from the people, who 
naturally expected their king to rejoice in the 
victory won at so great cost. It was only when 
roughly expostulated with by Joab, who said that 
he seemed not to care if all had perished, that 
David mastered himself sufficiently to review his 
army, and to commend their valor and heroism. 

Thus perished, after he had broken the heart 
of a too indulgent and loving father, the most 
unprincipled, the most rebellious, and the worst 
youth whose story is recorded in Scripture. 



TEE QUEEN GIRL OF SHEBA. '219 



THE QTJEEN GIRL OF SHEBA. 

MAQUEDA. 

On the eastern coast of Africa, only a few 
degrees north of the equator, lies Abyssinia. 
It is an extensive country, peopled by strange 
men, strange specimens of the animal world, 
and producing many of the most strange vege- 
table growths. Its products, both in the animal 
and vegetable kingdoms, are varied in the ex- 
treme, as are also the topography and climate 
of the country. It lies upon the very edge of 
the great desert, having to the west countries 
even yet almost wholly unknown, despite the 
courage and determination of the great African 
explorers, who have done so much within recent 
years to make known to us the mystery of 
the Dark Continent. 

On the north-east lies the Red Sea, and the 
country that borders that is hot and arid. In 
the interior are great mountain ranges, upon 
whose summits rest the never-melting snows. 



220 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

It thus presents every variety of climate, from 
the burning heat of the tropics to the severe 
cold of the higher altitudes. In the valleys the 
soil is rich, and this climatic variation and adapt- 
ability is such that almost every product of the 
vegetable world may there be grown ; while 
the domestic animals of northern Europe and 
the wild denizens of the African desert meet 
almost on a common ground. 

This is the country which is said to be the 
" Sheba " of Scripture. Both the Arabians and 
the Abyssinians claim the famous queen as their 
own ; but Jesus called her the " queen of the 
south" and spoke of her as having come "from 
the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the 
wisdom of Solomon ; " a statement that would 
have had little meaning if she had journeyed 
only from Arabia. But the journey from Abys- 
sinia would have been long and tedious and 
hazardous, and would only have been undertaken 
by some one who had a supreme motive for it. 
Only a journey such as this, therefore, would 
have called forth such comment. 

Abyssinia is a country of which, to-day, very 
little really is known by the civilized world in 



THE QUEEN GIRL OF SHEBA. 221 

general ; you may imagine that it was considered 
a very remote place in the time of which we are 
telling you, as this narrative carries us back to 
the days of Solomon, something earlier than the 
year 1000 B.C. 

Abyssinia was a part of the ancient kingdom 
of Ethiopia, and the people were called " Ethio- 
pians " from a word in the Greek language which 
signifies " of a dark color." The population was 
dense, and many of the tribes were of a fierce 
and warlike character. Yet at an early period 
the arts of the Greeks and Egyptians penetrated 
into their land, and the conduct of the queen 
in going up to Solomon shows that there was a 
tendency to seek for more knowledge than was 
possessed by the Ethiopians. 

It was a country most richly endowed by na- 
ture, and was therefore of the very sort in which 
civilization should make progress. In some por- 
tions the fertility of the soil is so great as to 
produce three crops annually. There are rich val- 
leys, wide pastures, and immense and valuable 
cedar forests upon the mountains. The date, or- 
ange, lemon, pomegranate, and banana are among 
its fruits. Coffee grows wild on the mountain 



222 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

slopes, and cotton, sugar-cane, and the vine are 
cultivated. Maize, wheat, and barley flourish ; and, 
upon the low ground, grows most luxuriously a 
native cereal called teff> having grains not much 
larger than the head of a pin, from which is 
made the bread in general use, and tocusso, a 
kind of corn, of which is made the black bread 
which constitutes the food of the lower classes. 

Among the animals are the horse and the ox 
from Europe, besides the remarkable Gella ox, 
which sometimes has horns four feet long. There 
are goats and sheep, the latter very small, and 
having black wool. But opposed to these gentle 
domestic servants of man is the hyena, a very 
fierce and untamable, though naturally cowardly, 
beast of prey. This animal is protected by the 
superstition of the people, and roams without 
hindrance in great bands over the country, be- 
coming so bold as to enter even the towns and 
the houses of the inhabitants. 

Of nobler animals, the elephant and the rhi- 
noceros are found in the lower country. The 
Abyssinian rhinoceros is the greatest of his kind; 
he has two horns, and a skin so tough that it 
is used for the making of shields. Hippopot- 



THE QUEEN GIRL OF SHEBA. 223 

ami, which are now becoming rare, are found 
in the rivers, as well as crocodiles. Lions, pan- 
thers, and leopards are common, besides smaller 
animals of prey, and many species of monkeys 
abound. Birds of brilliant plumage inhabit the 
forests, as well as eagles, vultures, hawks, and 
falcons. 

It was in such a land that Maqueda lived ; 
and to her there came tales of the marvellous 
magnificence of the court of the great king Sol- 
omon, and of the extraordinary wisdom of this 
man, upon which his greatness had been built. 
We may imagine how wonderful were the tales 
thus brought to her; for they had much of truth 
in them at the start, and in being repeated and 
elaborated, as tales are when they travel, as they 
were told from one to another, they must have 
grown greatly in all that long distance through 
which they had to pass to reach Maqueda' s ears. 

But as she herself showed some wisdom, we 
may imagine that she did not accept all these 
tales as true, but realized the tendency of all 
stories to grow more marvellous by repetition. 
Yet she became convinced that there was enough 
foundation to them to warrant her in undertak- 



224 BIBLE BOYS AND GIBLS. 

ing this great journey, in order to see and to 
talk with the man of whom all this was told. 

The Sabian religion, in which Maqueda was 
reared, was pagan. It consisted of the worship 
of the sun, moon, and stars ; and the Abyssinian 
tradition is that she was a pagan until she went 
upon this visit to Solomon, and was by him 
converted to Judaism. The Sabians were from 
Arabia, and had colonies in Africa ; Abyssinia 
was peopled from South Arabia, as is proved by 
its language and writing. This settlement was 

(Do O 

at a very early period. It is therefore quite 
certain that Maqueda was a Sabian by race. 
She belonged to the Semitic stock, the same race 
from whom the Hebrews and Arabs have come. 
The monarchies of South Arabia were heredi- 
tary, and so, naturally, were those of Ethiopia, 
as being of the same people. Maqueda was a 
king's daughter, reared in a palace, trained for 
the succession to the throne, with all the ad- 
vantages of education which the country and the 
time could afford. She had a passion for knowl- 
edge, was of strong character, and was always 
learning. Although she may not have expressed 
it in the same way, doubtless the same feeling 



THE QUEEN GIRL OF SHEBA. 225 

possessed her that Bacon gave expression to when 
he said, " I will make all knowledge mine ! " 
and which, consistently followed out, resulted in 
making him the most learned man of his time. 
Doubtless she saw the possibilities of this country 
of which she was queen ; she knew how wonder- 
ful were its resources and capabilities if rightly 
directed ; and this had an influence upon her, as 
well as the longing for knowledge for her own 
gratification. "We may be sure that one who in 
later life could plan and carry out such a jour- 
ney as that which she made to visit Solomon, 
merely for the sake of knowledge, could have 
been no ordinary girl. Add to this that all tra- 
ditions agree that she was of great beauty and 
culture, and we may form some idea of this Afri- 
can girl-queen who has handed down her name 
to posterity as the perfection of physical and in- 
tellectual womanhood. But to understand her 
more fully, and to realize how greatly she was in 
advance of her people, and of all those who were 
about her, we must not forget that the king, 
her father, was at the best but a half-barbarous 
chieftain, and that her girlhood was encompassed 
by none of the advantages of modern civiliza- 



226 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

tion. The capital, Gondar, was poorly built, the 
houses being but huts, such as are even now 
most common in tropical countries. The life of 
a girl there was lived without much restraint, in 
the open air, and in such occupations and pas- 
times as would tend more to the development 
of the physical than the intellectual character. 
Swimming in the rivers, riding the half-wild 
horses, playing with the tamed animals of the 
forest for her pets, accustomed to hearing of, if 
not actually seeing, the constant fierce battles 
among the neighboring tribes, who were always 
at war with one another, — this was not the life 
which would tend most to develop the girl into 
such a woman as she must have been when she 
met King Solomon, and so charmed him with 
her appearance and her speech. That she was 
superior to her time and place and people is 
evident. 

She was of singular eloquence : that we will 
see by her direct and forcible and well-chosen 
words in her conversation with the wise king of 
the north. Not that she talked much, but she 
had thought much ; and this showed itself in her 
speech. Away clown there in the south, under 



THE QUEEN GIRL OF SHEBA. 227 

the brilliant skies of the tropics, her people had 

been worshippers of the heavenly bodies. This 

had induced a spirit of thoughtfulness ; for as 

she pondered upon the mystery of the stars, she 

was led to think deeply about the world and its 

life in parts unknown to her. This made her 

long to know more of it; and she never had 

found, until she met King Solomon, one who 

could understand her longing for knowledge, or 

give any answer to her questions. 

One direct result of this condition of her girl 

life we see in the making of the puzzles which 

she took to test the kind's wisdom. Of a studi- 
es 

ous and thoughtful habit of mind, she had given 
to this matter even more earnest attention than 
was common among this puzzle-making people ; 
it had become almost a science with them. 
So, while she watched the stars and the sun, 
and wondered about them, she thought out the 
puzzles of the diamond and the pearl and the 
goblet, deciding that of all that her brain could 
conjure up, these would be the most difficult for 
him to solve. 

Seeing so little of true wisdom about her, she 
was naturally suspicious of the things that were 



228 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

told her; and this test, to be proven to herself 
alone, was to confirm the rumors, or destroy her 
illusions. 

So she went out from Gondar in Amhara, the 
ancient capital where her life had been spent, 
and travelled due north for a distance half as 
great as that across our own continent. Those 
who have read of the perils and hardships en- 
countered by travellers who journeyed to the 
Pacific by the " Overland Trail " only a genera- 
tion ago, can form some conception of the diffi- 
culties of the journey made by this woman three 
thousand years ago. Perhaps they went up along 
the African coast of the Red Sea, as there was 
even then some commerce between Abyssinia and 
Egypt; or they may have crossed the Red Sea 
and journeyed north through Arabia ; or they 
may even have gone to the coast, and taken ship 
for much of the distance through the Red Sea. 
Perhaps this is the more probable, as there was a 
great commerce on that sea, and it would have 
been the easier and speedier method of travel. 
But even this would have left a great distance 
to be traversed by caravan ; and we can see the 
beautiful queen, mounted upon her camel, sur- 



THE QUEEN GlBL OF SHEBA. 229 

rounded by her great train of warriors and ser- 
vants, and all those who were to accompany her 
to the court of the strange king. We read that 
" she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, 
with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, 
and precious stones." Evidently she travelled 
in this manner daring the latter portion of the 
journey, even though she may have come part 
of the way by ship. Without doubt she wished 
to approach the king with all the magnificence 
that she could command, so that her own state 
would compare favorably with his regal surround- 
ings, and impress him with the rank and impor- 
tance of his guest. 

She carried with her, for presents to the king, 
one hundred and twenty talents of gold, and 
very great stores of spices and precious stones. 
" There came no more such abundance of spices 
as these which the queen of Sheba gave to king 
Solomon." She also took along some balsam 
plants, which were reset, and produced the fa- 
mous balsam plantations of Jericho. 

When she reached Jerusalem she was received 
by the great king in a splendid manner, as be- 
came his own dignity and that of a visiting sov- 



230 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

ereign, and accorded also with the respect due a 
cultivated woman who came as his guest. When 
he learned the motive that had prompted her 
to come, he showed her the greatest cordiality, 
and gave her the utmost opportunity to see if 
all the things which she had heard were true. 
She was amazed at the extent and beauty and 
costliness of the palace ; at the house called " The 
Forest of Lebanon ; " at the magnificence of the 
table and the apparel of the servants ; and was 
greatly affected by the splendor of the daily sac- 
rifices to God at the temple. 

All this glory so impressed her, it was so be- 
yond anything that her mind had been able to 
conceive, that her own little palace in her half- 
savage capital of Gondar sank into insignificance 
beside it. The contrast between her own state 
and power and that of King Solomon was so 
great that, in the words of the Bible, " there 
was no more spirit in her;" and she declared 
that "the half had not been told." 

The Orientals have always been exceedingly 
fond of riddles and puzzles. Evidently Maqueda 
had this passion strongly developed; for when she 
determined to visit Solomon she prepared her- 



THE QUEEN GIRL OF SHEBA. 231 

self to test his wisdom in this way. The fame 
of his glory and the accounts of his learning, 
had filled her with a desire, not only to see him 
and his surroundings, but to test him for herself 
in every manner. So, the legend says, she 
dressed five hundred boys as girls, and five hun- 
dred girls as boys ; had a diamond cut through 
in zig-zags ; placed a crystal goblet in a box ; and 
chose a single pearl. These she sent to him, with 
a thousand carpets of gold and silver tissue, and 
a crown adorned with pearls and diamonds, and a 
great quantity of perfumes. These latter were 
for presents; but the boys and girls, the diamond, 
the goblet, and the pearl were for the purpose 
of testing his wisdom. 

She sent with them a messenger who bore a 
letter to Solomon, stating that if he were a 
prophet he would tell the girls from the boys, 
guess the contents of the box. pierce the pearl, 
thread the diamond, and fill the goblet with 
water which came neither from heaven nor from 
the earth. 

The king, so the legend says, told what were 
the contents of the letter before it was opened; 
he told the boys from the girls by the way they 



232 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

washed their hands, for the boys only dipped 
their hands in the water, while the girls put up 
their sleeves, and washed their arms ; by the help 
of a magic stone he drilled a hole through the 
pearl ; and he threaded the diamond by causing 
a worm to pass through it with a fine thread 
in its mouth. The goblet he filled with water 
gathered from the sweat of a wild horse that 
had been ridden furiously. 

But, notwithstanding that his wisdom and 
magnificence were so much beyond what she 
had thought, and that they so impressed her 
that " there was no spirit in her," Maqueda 
and the king became very good friends. " She 
communed with him of all that was in her 
heart." Solomon answered all her questions, and 
imparted to her as much of his own knowledge 
and learning as was possible in the time that 
they were together. " There was not anything 
hid from the king which he told her not." 

And then, when she was ready to depart, to 
go back the long way into the south to her own 
country, and when Solomon had given to her 
" all her desire, whatsoever she asked," he gave 
her besides rich presents from his own royal 



THE QUEEN GIRL OF SHEBA. 233 

bounty. " So she turned and went to her own 
country, she and her servants." 

There is something sad about this last phrase 
in the Bible narrative. After having; seen all 
the wonders and beauties of this most advanced 
civilization that the world could then show, this 
woman, who appreciated it all so much, was 
compelled to go back into her own wild, rich, 
uncouth country, away down in the heart of 
Africa, on the very eclcre of the great burning 
desert. Yet this journey was not without good 
to her own people ; for she applied her new 
knowledge to the better government of her own 
realm. 

The acquaintance and friendship between the 
two did not end with this visit ; for, though they 
never saw each other again, they maintained 
friendly relations throughout their lives, and 
exchanged messages. 

There are a multitude of traditions that still 
linger in all that country in regard to this fa- 
mous woman ; and the story of her journey to 
visit Solomon is still told over and over by 
Arabs, Moors, and Abyssinians. 

After her return she passed three notable laws 



234 BIBLE BOYS AND GIBLS. 

in regard to the succession to her throne : First, 
she enacted that the crown should be hereditary 
in the family of Solomon forever. Second, that, 
after her, no woman should be capable of wear- 
ing the crown or being queen, but that it should 
descend to the male heirs, however far off, to 
the exclusion of the female heirs, however near. 
Third, that the male heirs of the royal house 
should always be sent as prisoners to a high moun- 
tain, where they should continue to their death, 
or until the succession should open to them. 

Maqueda reigned forty years, and died 986 
B.C., placing her son Menilek on the throne. It 
is claimed by the Abyssinians that his heirs 
have reigned ever since. 

A word about Abyssinia as it is to-day, and we 
have done with the country of this famous queen. 

Many of the rivers of Abyssinia flow into the 
Nile, and their valleys possess some of the char- 
acteristics of the Nile valley ; this makes the 
land a rich agricultural region. The people are 
now mainly agricultural and pastoral. A chief 
product is honey, of a very superior quality, and 
of such value that tribute is paid with it in 
many of the provinces. 



THE QUEEN GIRL OF SHEBA. 235 

The population is mixed, being now of several 
tribes and races, the majority being Caucasians. 
Many of the people are idolaters, many are Mo- 
hammedans, and many Christians. There are 
Jews in the country whose ancestors arrived at 
about the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, 
drawn hither probably by the memory of the 
historic friendship of their great king with the 
famous queen. The prevailing religion' to-day 
is a corrupt form of Christianity. 

The Mosaic law is observed in regard to food 
and purification ; while animals that do not chew 
the cud, or such as have not cloven hoofs, are 
forbidden as food. These facts show that the 
influence of Maqueda still lingers. 

The language of literature and religion is Geez, 
which belongs to the Ethiopic class ; but Agow, 
the speech of the people, is believed to be the 
original language of the country. The other 
tongues used have been introduced by con- 
querors. 

The manufactures are not at all extensive. 
Some leather and parchment are made, and iron 
and brass are worked. The exports are gold, 
ivory, coffee, butter, honey, wax, — and slaves ! 



236 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 



THE FARMER BOY: 

AMOS. 

Some young people are inclined to think slight- 
ingly of country life. They belittle the oppor- 
tunities it presents for accomplishing anything 
worth doing, or for becoming a person of im- 
portance and influence in the world. They seem 
to think that great cities are the only places in 
which men grow up to greatness. 

This mistaken idea has led many a youth to 
give up a good home and excellent prospects 
in the country for the unknown life of the city, 
only to find himself much worse off in the end. 
Young people should know that, in good time, if 
it is in one to do great things, the opportunity 
will present itself ; and it will come to one 
whether he is in the country or in the city. It 
is wise to wait until you are old enough to un- 
derstand what you may be able to do; then, 
even if you are in the country, you may under- 
take the hazards of a wider life. 



THE FARMER BOY — AMOS. 237 

Great numbers of men who have made their 
mark — and women too, remarkable for their 
culture and beauty and strength of mind — have 
come from rural districts. Great kings and sol- 
diers and statesmen, great poets and scholars, 
have grown up among the hills and valleys far 
from town, and have brought strong muscles and 
toned nerves and clear brains into the cities to 
influence the world. Let not country boys and 
girls be discouraged ; if they have the ability 
and pluck which are necessary to success, they 
can read and study and cultivate themselves in 
the quiet of their homes; and. when the time 
is ripe, emerge from obscurity and accomplish 
as much as any one for the world's progress 
and betterment. 

It is of the country that we shall tell you 
now ; of the breezy hills in the district of Tekoa, 
in the south of Judah ; and of a lad who grew 
up there on a farm, at a period some eight 
hundred years before Christ came into the world. 
To him there came a call from God to prophesy ; 
and he left his farm and his flocks, and went 
up to the towns and cities, and delivered the 
words recounted in the Book of Amos. 



238 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

Tekoa was a fortified town among the hills ; 
it was built by King Rehoboam. Now noth- 
ing remains of it but ruins. The Arabs pasture 
their sheep and their goats there, as Amos did 
before them. Following these duties he was 
accustomed, from boyhood, to look upon the for- 
tifications which the king had built. No doubt 
they seemed to him very wonderful works, and 
gave him an exaggerated idea of the power 
and greatness of the one who had caused them 
to be erected. 

When the call came to him, he did not show 
any lack of ability to meet the demand thus 
made upon him because of having been brought 
up in the country. Indeed, he was well ac- 
quainted with the literature of his time ; he 
knew many of the books of the Old Testa- 
ment ; he was familiar with the writings of some 
of the prophets. So much talent did he show 
that it has been said of him, " The simplicity 
of his style is of the highest art." And again, 
" The native force and talent for observation 
displayed by this prophet were derived from his 
early converse with nature on the wild hills 
of Judah." " His imagery,", this modern critic 



THE FARMER BOY — AMOS. 239 

says, " from its freshness and appropriateness 
almost reminds us of Dante, and entitles Amos 
to as high a place in the history of literature 
as in that of theistic religion." 

We see by this that he gained much from 
the country, and from the simple, wholesome 
life that he led there, although that life was 
more narrow than any of our farm-lads lead 
to-day. But we are not writing this story of 
Amos in order to tell of the advantages of 
the country over the city ; we wish to show 
you a little of what country life was in that 
remote time. The boys upon the farm then did 
not harvest the grain with a self-reaper, nor 
gather the hay with the aid of a sulky-rake. 
Every portion of the labor w r as performed by 
hand ; for machinery had not yet come to the 
assistance of the agriculturist. 

The agriculture of Egypt at that time was 
further advanced than that of any other nation ; 
the Israelites had learned from them, and had 
brought such of their practices as they could 
up into the new land into which they had 
come. Canaan was a land Wk flowing with milk 
and honey ; " but it was because it was nat- 



240 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS, 

urally rich and fertile, not because man had 
done so much toward its planting and cultivat- 
ing. 

In Egypt the first essential for successful 
agriculture was irrigation. This was secured in 
part by the annual overflow of the Nile, which 
watered an immense territory and made it pro- 
ductive, and in part by artificial canals that 
carried the water from the rivers to the land 
where it was needed. Now, we shall see some 
very curious points of similarity between an- 
cient practices in agriculture, and those which 
obtain in our own day and land. For instance, 
one method of irrigation was to form, on level 
ground, square beds surrounded by a border of 
earth ; the stream of water was then turned 
by the gardener from one to another of these, 
by opening or closing the passages in the border 
with his foot. Probably Moses referred to this 
custom when he said, regarding the Promised 
Land, " The land whither thou goest in to possess 
it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye 
came out, where thou sowedst thy seed and wa- 
ter edst it ivith thy foot, as a garden of herbs." 
In our own Southwest this very method is now 



THE FABMEB BOY — AMOS. 241 

practised. The ground is laid off into small 
beds, and the borders are built up, and the 
water is let through from one portion to another 
after the ancient manner. Among the oldest 
agriculturists of our country are the Pueblo 
Indians. They possess great tracts that are 
irrigated in this way, and which they have thus 
cultivated for hundreds of years. 

Now, you will observe that Moses told his 
followers that the land into which they were 
going was not like this. It was a country 
which during a portion of the year was very 
arid, the entire rainfall coming during the win- 
ter months. Unless water could be procured by 
some artificial means, the gardens and orchards 
could not be maintained in a flourishing condi- 
tion. Water could, however, always be procured 
at a moderate depth below the surface of the 
soil, from whence it was raised by means of 
a wheel, or by other devices, and was carried 
across the fields by troughs. This also is the 
practice in some portions of our own country, 
where the rainfall cannot wholly be depended 
upon. 

In descriptions of Palestine we often read 



242 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

of the " terraces." These consisted of a series of 
low walls, one above another, across the face of 
the hill, built for the purpose of arresting the 
soil brought down by the rains, and thus afford- 
ing a series of levels for the operations of the 
husbandmen. This method of cultivating hilly 
lands is also practised to some extent with us, 
' and will not be wholly strange to some of our 
boy readers in the Southern States. 

The implements of agriculture in Egypt were 
extremely simple. Representations of them in 
all their variety are found on the Egyptian 
monuments, so that we are very well informed 
regarding them. It is probable that a people 
who came out of Egypt employed the same 
farming tools when they reached their new home. 

The implement first in order in the agricul- 
ture of the whole world is the plough. That 
of ancient Egypt was sometimes no more than 
a crooked stick with a sharpened point. Some- 
times it was made from a section of the trunk 
of a young tree which had two branches run- 
ning in opposite directions. Sometimes the point 
was covered with iron, rudely hammered into 
some semblance of our modern ploughshare. At 



THE FARMER BOY — AMOS. 243 

the best, it could do little more than scratch the 
ground ; and the ploughing had always to be 
done during the rainy season, while the ground 
was still soft, or just after it had been irri- 
gated artificially. The hoes of that time were 
very heavy and awkward, having a rude, short 
handle and a disproportionately long and heavy 
blade. The implement was more nearly that 
which we now call a mattock than our modern 
hoe. 

Oxen were used for ploughing, and the amount 
of land turned in a day was called an acre. 
Whether it corresponded in extent with that 
which we now call an acre is not known. 

Their crops were largely those of small grains, 
wheat, and barley, and consequently did not 
require much attention after the sowing until 
they were ready for harvesting. This was ac- 
complished by means of the sickle, not the 
scythe or cradle, but the same, or nearly the 
same, small, crooked implement with which we 
are familiar. With this, a strong laborer could 
harvest about one-fourth of an acre in a day, 
as contrasted with the ten or more acres that 
a modern machine can cut and bind. After 



244 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

being cut, the grain was bound in bundles, and 
carried to the threshing-floor. This was on the 
open ground. A level spot was selected, the 
ground was made hard and smooth by pound- 
ing, and the sheaves were then spread out in 
a thick layer. The grain was trodden out by 
the feet of oxen, cows, and younger cattle, 
which were driven around in a circle, or in 
all directions over the floor, in much the same 
way as the New Jersey farmers, before the days 
of machinery, threshed their oats with horses. 
Sometimes, too, a threshing-sledge was used ; it 
was much like the common stone sledges of 
New England. Sometimes they used a wooden 
roller. Smaller grains, such as fennel and cum- 
in, were beaten out with a rod, similar to the 
method of threshing with the flail, which prob- 
ably many of our readers have seen. 

In our modern farming, wheat and other 
small grains are winnowed; that is, the chaff is 
separated from the grain at the same time and 
by "the same machine with which the thresh- 
ing is done. But, among the ancients, this win- 
nowing came after the threshing ; it was very 
slow and laborious work. The threshed grain 



THE FARMER BOY — AMOS. 245 

was heaped up in the centre of the threshing- 
floor; and then, when the wind was blowing, it 
would be tossed into the air, when the chaff 
would be carried away, and the kernels would 
fall back again to the ground. To get the 
grain clean this process of separation was re- 
peated many times. A winnowing-shovel was 
used for the purpose of throwing the grain up 
against the wind. After being winnowed, the 
grain was then placed in storehouses. These 
were very different from ours ; they were often 
underground, and were cool, perfectly dry, and 
tight. They were sealed upon the top with 
plaster, and covered with a deep bed" of earth, 
so that the rats and mice, and even the ants, 
which were by no means contemptible enemies, 
were kept out. In those dry countries grain 
thus buried would be found perfectly fresh and 
sound after many years. 

The culture of the vine and the olive, of 
the date, the fig, the pomegranate, and other 
fruits, was carried on extensively, and it would 
be interesting to note the methods concerning 
these. But we will leave them, and pass on to 
the care of flocks and herds ; for Amos was 



246 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

more concerned in attending to these than with 
any other part of the farm and its labor. He 
was shepherd-boy, and it was his especial care 
to watch the sheep and the goats. These flocks 
constituted a large portion of the wealth of 
the agriculturist ; and the position of shepherd 
was an honorable one, as very much depended 
upon his faithfulness and good judgment. It 
was the duty of Amos to keep the flocks to- 
gether ; to move them from one place to an- 
other, as he found the herbage good or poor ; 
to guard them against wild beasts ; and to get 
them under shelter when sudden storms came 
up. At night he must remain with his charges, 
and be ready to defend them against robbers 
or prowling animals. In leading them from 
one grazing-place to another, he would go be- 
fore them, carrying his rod, or crook, which 
they would follow as if it were a magic wand. 
This was called a crook, because it had a crook 
at each end ; and by catching this about the 
shoulders of an animal he could check or guide 
it at will. Sheep thus herded learn to know the 
shepherd so well that they will follow him with 
the greatest docility, and will obey his voice. 



THE FARMER BOY — AMOS. 247 

We have had, in this book, other stories of 
boys who were shepherds, one of whom was 
David. Neither in his case, nor in that of 
Amos, was this quiet, peaceful life one to unfit 
them for the duties that came later. 

We may suppose that the boyhood of Amos 
was one of greater labor than that of David ; 
with a closer application to the daily routine 
of toil, which is, of necessity, a part of all 
agricultural life. He found, as farm-boys now 
find, that every day there were tasks that must 
be done, or loss would surely follow. The 
ground must be broken when the time was 
suitable ; the grain must be sown and reaped 
and stored away at just the proper times. The 
vines must be trimmed, and the olives gathered 
without delay, when the season for these things 
had come. The sheep must be watched all the 
time, and led daily from one pasture to an- 
other, or to a well or stream of good water, 
or they would not thrive. It was not the life 
for a lazy boy, any more than the farm is a 
place for him now. We think that he had 
to work, because we know he was the son of 
poor people. In his book he tells us that he 



248 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

was not only a herdsman, but a gatherer of 
sycamore fruit. The sycamore, there, was not 
the tree that is known to us by that name, 
but one that bore annually several crops of 
figs. These were small and of a greenish-yellow 
color, and very insipid. None but the poorest 
people used them — those who were glad to ob- 
tain even inferior food, if they could do so 
with no cost but that of gathering it. 

We must not think of his life, however, as 
nothing but dreary toil and monotony. Boys 
will find companions ; they will have their sports 
and games in the country as well as in town. 
Boy Amos, we may be sure, had his share. 
With his companions he wrestled and played 
and shouted among the hills ; he caught fish 
and trapped game, as boys have always done. 
We say, "boys will be boys;" we can also 
say, " boys always have been boys," in every 
country and every age. There have been no 
natural conditions anywhere under which boys 
have not had their sports and contests, their 
fun and tricks ; and we may be sure that Amos 
and his companions were no exceptions to this 
rule. 



THE FARMER BOY — AMOS. 249 

Nor are we to think that a boy who was 
to grow up into a prophet did not have the 
same feelings and instincts as others. We know 
that those who have become great kings, poets, 
and leaders of men, have been in boyhood pretty 
much like all others, so far as their fondness 
for play and for having a good time were con- 
cerned. The same God who has made the 
lambs to skip and kittens to play has given 
to all young people, who are well in body and 
mind, the love of sport. 

Nevertheless, Amos found time for study 
and the improvement of his mind ; and the 
association with nature, in his youth, was just 
the thing that most helped him to speak im- 
pressively when he went out into the cities. 
He did not imitate the manner and speech of 
others, but was able to speak out of his own 
heart and experience. Therefore he was listened 
to ; and the people believed the things that he 
told them. And you may be very certain that 
he was not thought the less of because he had 
dressed coarsely, and had led the flocks about, 
or had helped to reap and winnow the grain 
with the other laborers upon his father's farm. 



250 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 



THE WORST GIRL: 

JEZEBEL. 

The woman of whom we are about to tell 
you is one of the terrible characters in history. 
We do not like to look, in this book, upon 
the unpleasant side of human nature ; but it 
would hardly be a correct picture of the times 
unless we did so to some extent. Then, as 
well as now, evil existed in the world ; and 
in telling you the story of Jezebel we have 
two motives, — one to help you to an under- 
standing of the history, the other to show how 
woman's nature may be perverted by ambition. 
The name that heads this chapter stands out, 
as does that of Lady Macbeth, as a warning 
to those who give free rein to their own pas- 
sions. This was a woman who knew no law 
but her own will. 

Jezebel was born in Sidon, which, for a long 
time, was the principal city of the Phoenicians. 
Her father was Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians. 



THE WORST GIRL — JEZEBEL. 251 

Phoenicia was one of the early homes of civili- 
zation ; the people were ingenious and inventive, 
continually alert to better their conditions. It 
is supposed they were the inventors of the 
alphabet. They were among the first and most 
daring sailors ; they were great manufacturers, 
and were famous for glass-work, embroidery, 
and purple dyestuff. They were familiar, not 
only with the casting of glass in moulds and 
plates, and with glass-blowing, but they were 
glass-spinners ; making a soft filament that could 
be woven into textile fabrics. 

In navigation they were superior to any other 
of the ancient nations. They steered by the 
pole-star; their ships were swift, and they main- 
tained the most admirable order and discipline 
on board. Their women as well as their men 
were noted, but for less noble traits. They 
were much given to very beautiful and costly 
attire ; they applied cosmetics to make their 
faces more attractive, and were renowned for 
their arts of fascination. The nation was 
heathen in its religion, and worshipped nature, 
sun, moon and stars, rivers, mountains, and 
trees. 



252 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

Of this people came Jezebel, a king's daughter, 
reared in a palace, accustomed to have her 
wants and whims supplied at a wish, and taught 
to believe that it was a woman's sole province 
to be beautiful and attractive, and to have her 
own way in all things. 

She became the wife of Ahab, king of Israel. 
The kingdom had before this been divided into 
two parts, — that of Judah and that of Israel ; 
the latter including ten of the tribes. It was 
not long before Jezebel's training and influence 
began to appear ; and she soon led her husband 
away from the service of Jehovah to that of 
Baal, the god of her own country. She per- 
suaded the king to build a temple to Baal, 
to establish his priesthood, and, as was the 
custom among her own people, to plant groves 
for his worship. 

Her power became great ; her hatred against 
her husband's religion and her zeal for her own 
knew no bounds. She persecuted and put to 
death the prophets of God, so that but few 
of them were left. Even these were compelled 
to resort to every precaution in order to save 
their own lives, and they hid in a cave where 



THE WORST GIRL — JEZEBEL. 253 

they lived on bread and water. The stern 
prophet Elijah was the only one who was not 
terrified by her ; though she had sought him 
everywhere, in order to put him to death. 

One day this good and courageous man de- 
liberately put himself in the way of the king ; 
and the latter, who was now wholly under the 
influence of his wife, accused the prophet of 
being the cause of trouble in Israel. Elijah 
retorted that it was the king himself who had 
done this, by departing from the worship of 
the true God, and going after Baal. 

In order to give a proof as to which was 
the true God, Elijah challenged Ahab to gather 
on Mount Carmel all the people of Israel, in- 
cluding the four hundred and fifty priests of 
Baal, and four hundred priests of the groves. 
The king assembled the people, whereupon Elijah 
addressed to them a great appeal to make a 
final decision between Jehovah and Baal, and 
proposed a test as to the truth of the religions, 
as follows : — 

He asked that two bullocks be brought, one 
for the priests of Baal, and one for himself. 
When this was done, one bullock was cut to 



254 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

pieces by the followers of the heathen god, and 
placed on the altar with the wood, ready for 
sacrifice, but without fire. Then the priests of 
Baal began to call on their god to show his 
power by sending fire to the altar. They cried 
from morning until noon, " Baal, hear us ! " 
but there was no reply. 

Then Elijah mocked them, saying, " Cry aloud : 
for he is a god ; either he is talking, or he 
is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or perad- 
venture he sleepeth, and must be awaked." 
Then the priests called more loudly on their 
god, and cut themselves with their knives un- 
til their blood ran. But the evening came and 
there was no answer. 

At this Elijah called to the people to draw 
near him ; and he repaired the altar of Jeho- 
vah, that had been broken down. Then he 
made a trench about the altar, and laid wood 
upon it ; and he had water poured into the 
trench and over the altar until all was thor- 
oughly wet. Then, at the hour of evening sac- 
rifice, he prayed to God that a sign might be 
given which would turn the hearts of the people 
back again to the worship of the true God. At 



THE WORST GIRL — JEZEBEL. 255 

this, fire fell from heaven upon the altar, and 
consumed it and the sacrifice. 

This was a sign and positive evidence that 
all could understand ; and a great shout arose 
from the people, " The Lord he is the God ! " 
Then Elijah ordered that the priests of Baal be 
taken ; and they were slain. 

This great and wonderful defeat of her priests 
angered Jezebel still more, and Elijah was com- 
pelled to flee to save his life. The proof of 
the supreme power of his God, and the in- 
efficacy of her own, seems to have had no ef- 
fect toward turning; her from her course. She 
was intent upon going her own way, and ac- 
complishing Elijah's destruction. To fully show 
the violent nature of the woman, we will quote 
her words when she sent a messenger to the 
prophet as soon as she had learned of the 
death of her priests : ,; So let the gods do to 
me, and more also, if I make not thy life as 
the life of one of them by to-morrow about 
this time." She was not able, however, to ful- 
fil her threat. 

The character of Jezebel is illustrated by an- 
other of her terrible acts. One of Ahab's pal- 



256 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

aces, the grounds of which he had gone to 
great trouble and expense to adorn, was bounded 
on one side by the vineyard of a plain, poor 
man, named Naboth. This property Ahab wished 
very much to possess, but as it was a family in- 
heritance Naboth was not willing to part with 
it. When he was denied, the king took the re- 
fusal so much to heart that he went to bed sick, 
and refused to eat ; but turned his face to the 
wall instead. It was not often that in those 
days a king was refused anything that he de- 
sired ; and it was because Ahab was unaccus- 
tomed to have obstacles put in his way that he 
took this apparently small matter so seriously. 

When Jezebel saw that he was troubled, she 
inquired the cause ; and when he said it was 
because he could not purchase the vineyard, 
she answered, — 

"Are you king? I will get it for you." To 
accomplish her purpose she had Naboth accused 
of blasphemy and stoned to death. Then she 
went to Ahab and told him to arise from bed 
and go and take possession of the vineyard that 
he coveted; for she had arranged the matter, 
and Naboth was dead, 




■ 



- 



The Worst Girl: Jezebel. 



THE WORST GIRL — JEZEBEL. 257 

Ahab was a warrior as well as king ; and in 
the course of time he was slain in battle, and 
his son Ahaziah reigned in his stead. Jezebel 
had been the daughter of one kino;, the wife 
of another, and now was the mother of still a 
third. So you see she was always accustomed 
to power, and, through all these changes, was 
very close to the throne. 

Under the influence of his mother, Ahaziah 
did a great deal of evil in the two years of 
his reign ; for he followed in the same paths 
into which she had persuaded Ahab, and con- 
tinued the worship of Baal. When after a time 
he too was dead. Joram, another son of Ahab, 
took his place, and thus was Jezebel continued 
in power as the queen-mother. 

When Ahab and Jezebel had taken the cov- 
eted property of Naboth, and had brought him 
to death through false accusations, Elijah had 
pronounced a curse upon them for that deed. 
He had said, in the name of the Lord, that 
evil would come upon Ahab, and all his pos- 
terity should be cut off: ; that in the palace, 
where dogs had licked the blood of Naboth, 
they should lick his. And of Jezebel he said, 



258 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. ' 

" The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of 
Jezreel." 

Jehu, a son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, and 
grandson of Nimshi, had been present when 
Elijah thus cursed the king and the queen, and 
prophesied concerning them ; afterward he played 
a part in the fulfilment of these prophecies. 

Joram had been in battle with Hazael, king 
of Syria, and had been wounded, and had gone 
to Jezreel to have his hurt cared for. He was 
accompanied by Ahaziah, king of Judah, who 
had married his sister. This, of course, was not 
the Ahaziah mentioned above. 

While they were at ease in that city, and 
Joram was resting and recovering from his 
wounds, Elisha, the successor of Elijah, sent one 
of the young prophets to Ramoth-Gilead, where 
Jehu was stationed with a troop of soldiers of 
which he was captain. Elisha ordered his mes- 
senger to anoint Jehu as king. The young 
prophet having arrived, called Jehu from the 
company into the house, and anointed him, as 
he had been instructed to do. He then reminded 
Jehu of the promised fate of the house of 
Ahab, and commanded him to execute the decree. 



THE WORST GIRL — JEZEBEL. 259 

When the prophet had gone, Jehu announced 
to his soldiers that he had been anointed king ; 
whereupon they cast their garments under him, 
as a sign of subjection, and blew trumpets, 
and cried out, " Jehu is king." 

Jehu was a bold, impetuous, aggressive leader ; 
whatever he undertook, he did as speedily and 
thoroughly as was possible. He permitted noth- 
ing to interfere with his purpose. So when he 
knew what he was to do, he started with his 
troop at once for Jezreel. 

In that town the watchman was stationed 
in his high place on the wall, on the lookout. 
It was his duty to be always alert, to spy out 
the coming of any while they were yet at a 
distance, and to notify the king and those 
within the town, so that they could be ready 
for friends or foes, as the comers might prove 
to be. When, therefore, he saw this company 
coming rapidly toward the town, he sent word 
at once to the king. A messenger was ordered 
to ride toward the new-comers and ask if their 
errand were a peaceful one. When the mes- 
senger came up with Jehu, and had put the 
question, Jehu impetuously answered, — 



260 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

" What hast thou to do with peace ? turn 
thee behind me." Then again he whipped up 
the horses of his chariot, and went on toward 
the town with renewed speed. 

The watchman on his tower saw this, and 
cried, — 

" The messenger came to them, but he is not 
coming back." 

Upon this the king sent a second messenger, 
but with the same result. And all the while 
nearer and nearer thundered the chariot, fol- 
lowed by the troop. As the watchman strained 
his eyes toward the oncomers, he saw that they 
were not only coming swiftly, but that the man 
in the chariot had a certain reckless, furious 
way of handling the whip and the reins, like 
a very fast driver. He knew but one man 
who drove in that manner, and he said, "It 
is Jehu. The driving is like the driving of 
Jehu the son of Nimshi ; for he driveth furi- 
ously." 

When Joram knew it was Jehu, he and King 
Ahaziah ordered their chariots and went out 
to meet him. They had come as far as Na- 
both's field when they encountered him, and 



THE WORST GIRL — JEZEBEL. 261 

Joram asked if he came on a peaceful errand. 
With an angry reply Jehu reached at once for 
his bow, and drew it with his full strength, 
and shot Joram between the arms, and the 
arrow went out of his heart. He then ordered 
Ahaziah likewise to be slain. After which he 
took his whip again, and drove on to the town. 
In the meantime Jezebel, who was in the 
town in the king's palace, and who was more 
fierce and bitter than the fighters themselves, 
was aware of all that was being done. She 
realized her own danger, and quickly saw that 
her only chance was to use those Phoenician 
arts of fascination in which she had been 
schooled from her youth, and thus possibly win 
Jehu to make her his wife. Life and the 
throne — which, with her, was next to life — 
were at stake. She painted her face, and ar- 
ranged her head-dress, and stood looking out 
from the window near which Jehu would halt 
his horses. She was also ready for him with 
some keen words on a recent episode of history 
which was parallel to this one. She hoped to 
make him hesitate by appealing to his fears. 
As Jehu entered the gate she cried to him, — 



262 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

" Had Zimri peace, who slew his master ? ' 
That question was a sharp probe. Zimri, a 
captain of chariots, had, when drunk, killed 
Elah his king, and succeeded him. But in a 
short time, when in danger from the soldiers 
of Omri, he went into the king's palace, set 
fire to it, and himself perished in the flames. 

What a quick wit Jezebel had, to shoot that 
arrow of words so straight and so quickly ! It 
was as if she had said, — 

" Zimri killed his master ; see what he came 
to. Now you have killed your king — beware!" 

But Jezebel was not dealing with a man who 
was to be moved by fear, or by a painted face, 
or by Phoenician arts. This man was not think- 
ing of beauty, nor was he to be swerved by 
historic parallels. What cared he for Zimri ? 
In this, her last effort for life, Jezebel failed. 

Jehu, the furious driver, lifted his face to 
the window, and cried, — - 

" Who is on my side ? " 

At this there looked out two or three of 
the queen's attendants. Jehu cried to them, — 

" Throw her down." At that order they seized 
this wicked and headstrong daughter of Sidon ; 



THE WORST GIRL — JEZEBEL. 263 

who had wrought so much evil in Israel, and 
cast her from the high window down to the 
stone pavement. And Jehu trampled her under 
his horses' feet. 

While he was eating, he told his servants to 
go and bury her, as she was a king's daughter. 
But the dogs had already devoured her, all but 
the bones; and the curse and the prophecy were 
fulfilled. 



264 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 



THE CAPTIVE BOY: 

DANIEL. 

Daniel was a boy of noble family. He was 
born and reared in Jerusalem. One day, while 
he was yet a lad, there came to the city the 
fearful news that the Babylonian army, which 
under the command of Nebuchadnezzar had 
been ravaging many lands, was now marching 
against the Judean capital. 

The Jews had been for a time subjugated 
by the Assyrians, and then by the Egyptians. 
The Babylonian power had begun to rise, and 
Nineveh had fallen before the arms of Nebu- 
chadnezzar. At this the Jews had rejoiced, and 
they rejoiced again when the Egyptians were de- 
feated at Carchemish. But their joy was short- 
lived; for the Chaldeans exacted tribute just as 
the other two powers had done. This tribute 
was paid for three years, but in the third year 
of the reign of King Jehoiakim he refused to 
yield to the exactions of his masters longer. 



THE CAPTIVE BOY — DANIEL. 265 

Nebuchadnezzar had taken the field in per- 
son for this assault upon Jerusalem. His fame 
was great ; he was known to be a bold war- 
rior, and great terror spread among the inhab- 
itants. Every house was filled with shuddering 
people; for the name of the Chaldeans was al- 
ready becoming a terrible one, and they knew 
the hopelessness of a contest with this force, 
commanded by such a powerful general. 

Soon the glitter of spears and the flashing 
armor of the men were seen as the army marched 
up the valley, and swept around the city, and 
established their camps on every side. The 
people looked down from the walls and from 
the high points of the town upon the fatal 
coil that stretched about it like a great ser- 
pent. The metal of the soldiers' arms shone in 
the sunlight as the companies marched to and fro. 
It was all very beautiful, but very menacing. 

The people spoke in awed whispers as they 
watched ; for they knew only too well that this 
army was under a leader who was the incar- 
nation of destruction, and who had never lost 
a battle. His soldiers were fierce and indomi- 
table. The army was equipped with the most 



266 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

improved engines of war of that time; and 
while these were far below the great can- 
nons that are used now, they were of a sort 
which, handled with skill and patience, could 
accomplish great damage. While the city was 
as well situated as it could be for resisting a 
siege, there was little chance that it would be 
able to stand against the strength, patience, 
and equipment of the Chaldeans. 

The fires of the enemy were lighted for their 
meals ; the smoke encircled the city, as they 
leisurely prepared the great rams and engines for 
hurling stones, by which they hoped to break 
down the walls. A great part of the city was 
surrounded by ravines. To the south was the 
tower and city of David ; to the east, on Mount 
Zion, the temple rose in all its splendor ; to 
the west and north-west there was no defence 
but the walls, which were high and thick. 

The experienced eye of Nebuchadnezzar soon 
saw that a point to the north-west was the 
most favorable one for the main attack; so 
mounds of earth and stones were piled there at 
some distance from the walls, in order that 
the Chaldeans might post themselves on these, 






THE CAPTIVE BOY — DANIEL. 267 

and so have a chance to sweep the defences 
with their arrows. 

Between the mounds and the walls were 
placed the rams, which were great beams of 
wood shod with brass and iron, used for bat- 
tering against and breaking down the fortifica- 
tions. Sheds were erected over the rams to 
protect the soldiers from the weapons and stones 
that would be hurled down upon them from 
the walls. Some of the rams were held in the 
hands of long lines of soldiers ; but the larger 
and heavier ones were swung across other beams, 
and worked on pivots. 

When all the preparations had been made, the 
order for attack was given. It was answered 
by the defiant shouts of the Jews on the walls 
and within the city. Flights of arrows were 
discharged from the mounds and from the ranks 
around the city. The great cross-bows discharged 
huge stones. The thud of the rams was heard 
as the engineers under the sheds swung them 
against the massive walls. 

The siege was short. The fortifications gave 
way under the tremendous attack. A breach 
was made ; and over the dead bodies of the 



268 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

Jews the shouting warriors of Nebuchadnezzar 
charged through the gap, and swept into the city. 

Another assault was made on the temple, 
and the victors soon grounded their arms within 
the sacred precincts of that splendid edifice. 
Jehoiakim, knowing that all was lost, surren- 
dered in order to stop the needless slaughter 
of his own people. Then the sacred vessels of 
gold were taken from the temple, and the king 
was made prisoner. It was at first intended 
that he should be taken to Babylon ; but this 
plan was changed, and he was left as a vassal 
in his own city. 

Of this battle and the wonderful and bril- 
liant scene of assault and victory, the young 
Daniel had been a fearful but interested spec- 
tator. While anxious for the result, he could 
not but be charmed with the appearance of the 
soldiers, the mechanism of the engines of assault, 
and with the heroism of his townsmen in the 
defence of their homes. It was his first glimpse 
of that wider life of the world in which he 
was destined to play no unimportant part. 

Seeing that his victory was complete, Nebu- 
chadnezzar now gave an order to Ashpenaz, 



THE CAPTIVE BOY — DANIEL. 269 

his officer, that he should select from the pris- 
oners some of the boys of royal and noble 
blood, to be taken to Babylon that they might 
there be trained to wait upon him. Kings and 
great people in that day had a fancy for hav- 
ing in their service captives from other nations, 
who had in their own countries been of aris- 
tocratic blood and of high position. This min- 
istered to their vanity, while to be waited on 
by kings and princes was a constant reminder 
of their power. 

So Ashpenaz went on his errand into the 
palace where the soldiers were standing guard 
over the princes and nobles of the Jews. Pass- 
ing up and down the lines, looking for the 
fairest and brightest of these, he came to Daniel 
and three of his vounu; friends. These had 
been roughly seized on the streets or in their 
houses, and torn away from their lamenting 
mothers, who knew that they would , probably 
be carried away by the conquerors. 

Struck by the look of intelligence and the 
beauty of Daniel, the officer at once selected 
him as one of the desired number. 

In a few days the long train of prisoners 



270 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS 

of all classes, representing the highest and the 
lowest, was made up, and the army was ready 
to move. Daniel and his companions, who were 
to be taken special care of, were placed in char- 
iots, or on the backs of beasts of burden ; but 
the main body of the prisoners, with their hands 
bound together, were compelled to walk. Then 
forward moved the long procession, guarded by 
lines of soldiers, away out from the valley, 
and from the last fading view of their home, 
Jerusalem, for the long march to Babylon. 

On the way Nebuchadnezzar received news 
of the death of his father. Leaving the army 
and the prisoners to make their way slowly, 
he hastened in his chariot to the capital, and 
took possession of the throne. After many days 
of severe marching and exposure, the train of 
prisoners filed into the great Babylonian plain, 
and saw the waters of the Euphrates sweep- 
ing past their feet. Before them stood the 
walls and towers of the great Babylon, destined 
to become so much greater under the reign of 
that conqueror who had just come to the throne, 
and with whom the future of the captive Daniel 
was to be so intimately connected. 



THE CAPTIVE BOY — DANIEL. 271 

This Babylon became the greatest power in 
the world in its day, one of the mightiest 
powers the world has ever seen. The Bab- 
ylonian language became the language of com- 
merce, of literature, and of fashion, as Greek 
and Latin did later, as French did a century 
ago, and as English has in these later days. 
Babylon not only subjugated the known world, 
but it set the fashions, as Paris has done in 
our own time. One of the prophets said of it 
that it was the golden cup of which the nations 
had drunk and had become mad. Everybody 
was fascinated by the spell of that great and 
splendid city. Few of us nowadays have much 
idea of the universal fame and influence of the 
Babylonian people when their glory was at 
its height. Nebuchadnezzar reigned forty-three 
years, and made Babylon the mistress of the 
world. The whole East was overrun by the 
armies of Chaldea, Egypt was invaded, and the 
city of the Euphrates was left without a rival. 

Amid such splendor, in the centre of the 
world of his day, Daniel spent the rest of his 
boyhood, and his manhood. 

We know, from the requisites the king de- 



272 BIBLE BOYS AND GIBLS. 

manded in those whom he ordered Ashpenaz 
to select, that this boy was handsome and 
without bodily blemish, intelligent and well ed- 
ucated. He, with his three companions, was 
to receive food and wine from the king's table ; 
and they were to be trained for three years in 
the language and learning of Chaldea, and then 
to be brought before the king. 

As the king's food and wine were first pre- 
sented before their idol gods, Daniel and his 
companions considered it to be contrary to the 
laws of their religion to use them. They there- 
fore requested Melzar, the prince of the eunuchs, 
that they might be permitted to have other 
food. Melzar was very fond of the boys, and 
inclined to do as he was asked ; but he was 
fearful that other food might not be good for 
them, and that if they should grow thin, he 
would get himself in trouble for not obeying 
orders. 

But Daniel made the very sensible sugges- 
tion that a test be made for ten days, and 
that if at the end of that time they appeared 
not to flourish on the pulse and water which 
they asked for, the eunuch could be at liberty 



THE CAPTIVE BOY — DANIEL. 273 

to refuse their request. Melzar kindly consented 
to this, and at the end of the ten days their 
countenances appeared fuller and fairer than the 
children who ate the king's meat. So after 
that they were allowed to choose their own food. 

They were placed under the best tutors, and 
taught the Chaldean language, the history and 
customs of the country. At the end of the pre- 
scribed three years they were taken in before 
Nebuchadnezzar, in company with others who 
had gone through the same training. No doubt 
it was something of an ordeal to go into the 
presence of that fierce conqueror, who had smit- 
ten down their country and so many others ; in 
whose hands their lives were, and who might 
be displeased with them when they did appear. 
They had often talked together of the great 
occasion, and looked forward to it with natural 
interest ; for their whole future depended on 
the impression they would make on him. 

With what a strange feeling they followed the 
prince of the eunuchs through the palace gates, 
down the long halls lined with soldiers, into 
the throne-room of the greatest conqueror then 
in the world, to where he sat in his splendor 



274 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

and power on his great throne, with his crowd 
of courtiers kneeling before him. The boys 
moved steadily forward, and made the obei- 
sance in which they had been drilled. Melzar 
introduced them, telling the great man that 
these were the Hebrew youths who had been 
in his charge for three years, in training for 
the king's service. 

The countenance of Nebuchadnezzar relaxed 
with a smile of pleasure as he looked on them. 
Their beauty and innocence charmed him. The 
king talked with them all, and was specially 
impressed with Daniel and his three companions. 
Therefore they were selected to stand before 
him. 

After the boys had gone out they could not 
help talking of the king and of the impression 
he had made on them. It was a step up in 
life for the captives, and of course they were 
glad. 

It was but a short time afterwards that Nebu- 
chadnezzar had a dream which troubled him. 
One would think that a man who was respon- 
sible for the death of as many people as he 
would frequently have had many disturbing 



THE CAPTIVE BOY — DANIEL. 275 

dreams. The worst of this was, that while he 
was haunted by the impression of a bad dream, 
he could not remember what it was. Being a 
tyrant, and accustomed to exacting the most 
absurd things of other people, he called in the 
magicians, and demanded of them to know what 
the dream was. They declared that such a thing 
was unheard of ; that they could interpret the 
dream if they knew what it was, but to track 
a lost dream through the chambers of the king's 
brain was too much for them to attempt. At 
this Nebuchadnezzar was very angry ; he de- 
clared them to be impostors, and issued an order 
that all the wise men should be slain. 

Daniel and his friends were confounded with 
this class, and were taken with the others to 
be executed. Daniel asked what the meaning 
of the order was, and when the cause was ex- 
plained he asked for delay. The king consented ; 
and Daniel went to his house, and summoned 
his companions and told them the situation. 
They decided to invoke the divine aid concern- 
ing this secret. In answer to their prayers 
the dream was revealed to Daniel in a night 
vision. Then he went to Arioch, the captain 



276 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

of the king's guard, and asked him to delay 
the execution of the sentence against the wise 
men until he had seen the king. 

When Daniel was brought before the king 
he told him his dream. It was of a great 
image made of gold, brass, silver, iron, and 
clay; it was smitten on its feet with a stone 
cut out without hands ; and being thus stricken, 
the whole image was broken, and its dust scat- 
tered. 

The king recognized this as his dream, and 
was filled with amazement; but he marvelled 
still more when Daniel went on to interpret 
it. The head of gold, the boy told the king, 
was Nebuchadnezzar himself ; the other parts 
of the image were the kingdoms which should 
arise after him. And finally God should set 
up a kingdom which should never be destroyed. 

The finding of this dream, and its interpre- 
tation, made Nebuchadnezzar think Daniel the 
wisest man in the world, and he heaped honors 
upon him. Thereafter he was one of the most 
powerful men in the kingdom, and did many 
wonderful things. 

We shall not go on to trace the later his- 



THE CAPTIVE BOY — DANIEL. 277 

tory of this excellent man, although it will be 
interesting for you to look it up for your- 
selves. We wished only to tell you about his 
boyhood. But, before we close, we will give you 
a picture of the surroundings of his later life. 

In the city of Babylon he was in company 
with many of the greatest works man has ever 
produced. The city was built on both sides of 
the river, in the form of a square, and enclosed 
within a double row of high walls. It was 
fifty-six miles in circumference ; this would in- 
clude an area of about two hundred square 
miles, that is, three times as large as New 
York, in the extent of land covered, and a trifle 
larger than Chicago, which contains one hundred 
and ninety square miles. It was not closely built, 
however, as are most of our modern cities ; for nine- 
tenths of its space consisted of gardens, parks, 
and orchards, making it a very beautiful city. 

The height of the walls around it was about 
three hundred and thirty-five feet, and their 
width eighty-five feet. There were two hundred 
and fifty towers along the walls, with spaces 
between them broad enough to allow a four- 
horse chariot to turn. 



278 BIBLE BOYS AND G1BLS. . 

The walls were made of bricks, and were 
pierced with one hundred gates, all of brass, with 
brazen lintels and posts. Within the precincts 
of the palace of the king rose the famous 
Hanging Gardens, cultivated on the topmost 
of a series of arches, seventy-five feet high, 
and built in the form of a square, each side 
of which measured four hundred feet. 

The inner walls of the king's palace were 
decorated with hunting-scenes painted on bricks. 
Two of its gates were of brass, so heavy that 
they had to be opened and shut by a machine. 

The greatest building in the city was the 
temple of Bel. This was a pyramid of eight 
square stages, the lowest one being two hun- 
dred yards each way. On the top was the 
shrine in which stood a golden image of Bel, 
forty feet high ; there also were two other stat- 
ues of gold, and a golden table forty feet long 
and fifteen feet wide. The rest of the temple 
was proportionate in splendor. 

It was the counsellor of a king who could 
command such magnificence, that the boy captive 
from Jerusalem finally became. 



THE BOY KING — JO SI AH. 279 



THE BOY KING: 

JOSIAH. 

You all know that Solomon was the wisest 
man of all history. In the story of the Queen 
of Sheba. you read how his fame had spread 
even to the most remote lands, so that this 
queen, who was a seeker after knowledge, was 
led to journey " from the uttermost parts of 
the earth " to visit him, and learn if all that 
had been told regarding him was indeed true. 

Having wisdom, he acquired all other things ; 
riches and power followed in its wake ; he had 
the most magnificent palace, and armies of ser- 
vants, and gold and silver vessels ; he built a 
temple to the Lord greater than the world 
had ever seen before, and that perhaps has 
not since been equalled. His kingdom was vast 
and powerful. All these things were given to 
him because he was, in the beginning, so wise 
as to say that he desired wisdom more than 
all things else. 



280 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

But after Solomon was dead, this kingdom, 
which he had built upon a foundation appar- 
ently so stable, was divided into two parts, and 
became the separate kingdoms of Israel and of 
Judah. 

Even during Solomon's life all had not been 
harmony ; there had been differences and dis- 
sensions among his people. And during the 
reign of Rehoboam, his son, the ten tribes of 
Israel revolted against the house of David, and 
the one kingdom became two. It was over one 
of these, Judah, that Josiah came to reign, be- 
ing the sixteenth ruler of this nation. 

Now we must go back through all these 
years, and glance again at the dissensions in 
the greater kingdom in the time of Solomon, 
in order to understand fully the conditions that 
surrounded this boy, and the difficulties and 
dangers that beset him when he was called, 
at the age of eight years, to the throne. 

u Unhappy is the nation that is governed by 
a child," is an axiom in which is much of 
truth. But it might be said with almost equal 
truth that the fate of the child who governs 
is equally unhappy. 



THE BOY KING — JOSIAH. 281 

Even during the reign of Solomon, and when 
the great temple to the true God was being 
built, there was a strong disposition on the part 
of many of the Jews to be influenced by the 
false religions of the people about them. 
Heathen nations were on every side- and from 
these Solomon had taken many wives, to please 
whom he had introduced into his palace and 
city the worship of some of the heathen gods. 

The natural tendency in this direction was 
strong. The worship of Jehovah was of a pure 
and lofty character, and required men to be 
good ; while the heathen worships were sensual ; 
they appealed to the passions of men, and did 
not make hard requirements of them, but rather 
led them along in the way that they would nat- 
urally prefer to take. 

Because of this tendency to lead them away 
from the true worship, it had been forbidden 
the Israelites to marry among the idolaters ; 
but many of them broke this law, being cap- 
tivated by the beauty and fascinations of the 
heathen women to such an extent that they 
were willing to give up all else for them. The 
fame of the Phoenician women, of their charms 



282 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

and graces, still remains in the world. They 
knew how to use all the arts of coquetry for 
the allurement of men, and through their in- 
fluence many of the Jews were led away from 
the worship of the true God ; this added strength 
and encouragement to the ranks of the heathens, 
and helped to increase their influence. 

This continued for a long time, until the 
sedition reached into the high places, and 
among the most powerful in the land. At last, 
Amon, the fifteenth king of Judah, and the 
father of Josiah, went over to this party, and, 
in fact, gave himself up wholly to them. He 
turned the temple into a place for the worship 
of Baal, the chief of all the heathen divinities ; 
he set up altars to the false gods on the hills, 
and re-established the other idolatrous practices 
which had been for so long blotted out in that 
land. He gave up himself and the kingdom so 
wholly to them, that even the very Law of 
God was forgotten, and copies of it were lost. 

Such a course could have but one end. New 
troubles arose in the kingdom ; a conspiracy 
was formed among the enemies of the king ; 
he died at their hands ; his son Josiah, almost 



THE BOY KING — JO SI AH. 283 

an infant, was left to succeed him, and to 
reign over a land that would require the 
greatest wisdom and skill in statecraft to bring 
it successfully through the troubles that beset 
it. 

But, so long as the child was to be called 
to the throne at all, it is a fortunate circum- 
stance that his father died as early as he did ; 
for the lad had not become old enough to 
suffer greatly from the corrupting influences 
that would have been thrown about him, and 
which might have ended in making him the 
successor of his father in follies and evil prac- 
tices. But upon his father's death he became 
solely the charge of his mother. Though he 
began to reign at eight years of age, a re- 
gency had been established; so that, though a 
king in name, he was not a ruler with full 
powers until several years later. Nevertheless, 
he was the crowned king of Judah, and even 
while yet a boy could exercise immense influ- 
ence. There are always those about a child-king 
who look forward to the time when he shall 
arrive at full power. They become courtiers, 
and think, if they help the child to have his 



284 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

will, that when he becomes older, and is ruler 
in fact as well as in name, they may hope to 
receive great favors from him in return. 

While Josiah was a very young lad, he was 
accustomed to homage, as if he were a supe- 
rior being. This indeed he was, so far as 
goodness goes ; for his character seems to 
have been naturally very fine and upright. 
If any persons have an excuse for being 
spoiled and self-willed and conceited, they are 
the princes and kings who are flattered and 
fondled from their earliest years, and all of 
whose wishes are granted, and their whims 
humored. It is indeed a wonder that kings 
have not been worse than they were ; for they 
have scarcely a chance to possess good common 
sense, or the training that will make wise and 
prudent and upright men of them. Most of 
them have, in fact, yielded to the influences 
about them, and have had very little regard for 
the rights of their fellow-beings. 

But, fortunately, Josiah escaped this danger ; 
for though he was clad in the richest and finest 
of raiment, though he had courtiers about him, 
and many people to wait upon him and to 



THE BOY KING — JOSIAH. 285 

execute his commands, and though all his 
whims were granted, he seems to have been, 
from the first, a good and sensible boy. This 
perhaps can be explained by a single fact. 
Among all the bad influences about him, there 
was one very good one — his mother. Her in- 
fluence was so strong that it counterbalanced 
all the others, and resulted in making him a 
man of strong character and right life. His 
mother was Jedidah, daughter of Adaiah of 
Boskath, a town of Judah. To her care Jo- 
siah undoubtedly owed his virtues. She was 
a good woman, who had herself been reared in a 
godly home, and had never been corrupted by the 
evil surroundings in which she had been placed 
by her husband. She not only trained her son 
carefully in the true religion, in virtue and 
piety, but also in modesty and moderation and 
justice, and in all those attributes which helped 
to make him both an exemplary king and an 
exemplary man. While very young he learned 
to abhor the practices of the heathens, and made 
choice of the religion of the true God, to which 
he adhered all his life. Probably he was en- 
couraged in this by some of the good people, 



286 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

besides his mother, about him, such as the priests 
and prophets. Yet we are not to give them 
credit for the work he did later, for he was 
himself prime mover in the great reformation 
which was accomplished during his reign. 

When Josiah was sixteen years of age, he 
began to act for himself, and to make a per- 
sonal application of the principles of the reli- 
gion which his mother had taught him. He 
began of himself " to seek after the God of 
David his father," — that is, his ancestor. 

When he arrived at the age of eighteen years, 
he succeeded to full power as a king. He at 
once began the religious reform which he had 
doubtless been contemplating during the years 
of his minority ; and we can imagine him wait- 
ing anxiously for the time when he could carry 
out his purposes. His first act was to begin 
the repair of the temple; for, while being used 
and desecrated by the heathens, it had fallen 
into a bad state. He sent Shaphan to the high 
priest Hilkiah, to order that he should take 
the money which was in the treasury to the 
workmen that they might buy timber and stone 
for the repairs. Daring the interview between 



THE BOY KING— JO SI AH. 287 

these two, the high priest told Shaphan that 
he had found the Book of the Law, — that is, 
the book in our Bible called Deuteronomy, — 
which had been lost so long that its precepts 
were almost forgotten. It had been found in 
some out-of-the-way place in the temple, where 
it had been mislaid when there was no one 
who cared whether it were kept or lost. When 
this was told the kins: he ordered the book 
brought to him, and began to read. As he 
read, he rent his clothes, to signify his horror 
at the way the Law of God had been violated 
and departed from. Having thus discovered 
what the Law commanded, he at once set about 
to put it into effect. 

About this time the prophetess Huldah came 
to the king, and told him that God was about 
to destroy the nation for its sins, and that he 
would do this by bringing Nebuchadnezzar to 
take the city of Jerusalem. Upon this, Jo- 
siah at once put forth his utmost endeavors to 
save the nation by repentance and reform. He 
began by removing the images and altars of the 
false o;ods, and making; the Law of God known. 

It was an impressive scene, and one of in- 



288 BIBLE BOTS AND GIBLS. 

finite importance to the nation and to the world, 
when the boy king called together the elders 
of Judah and of Jerusalem, and went with 
them to the steps of the temple, which had 
been so desecrated, and there gathered all the 
people that he might speak with them. The 
multitude filled all the space about the temple, 
as far as the voice of the king could penetrate. 
Then he himself read aloud in their hearing 
the forgotten Law of God. This told of the 
great things God had done for Israel ; how they 
had been delivered from Egypt, and led in safety 
through the vast and terrible wilderness. Jo- 
siah told them that the Lord had given them 
this Law direct from Heaven ; he read from it 
the things that were commanded, and showed 
how the Lord had promised that while they 
obeyed they should prosper, and when they broke 
his Law they should be destroyed. 

But what a contrast to that Law was the 
situation of his people ! The very temple of 
God was itself filled with heathen images, and 
the whole land was covered with their altars. 
The temple that had been built for and dedi- 
cated to the purest and loftiest worship the 



THE BOY KING — JOSIAH. 289 

world had ever known was defiled by the vile 
practices of the devotees of Baal and Astarte, 
— the most unclean and sensual of all the pagan 
worships. 

The words of the king, the directness of the 
Law, the impressive manner of the reader, and 
the place itself, all lent force and meaning to 
his speech and exhortation. A great awe fell 
upon them all. They feared and seemed to 
realize that God was about to destroy them 
for their sins against him and their neglect 
of his express commands. They had heard of 
the great power in Babylon, which he was 
even then preparing, and which he would 
cause to sweep down upon them with an irre- 
sistible force, so that they would vanish utterly. 

It was a great scene, a marvellous occasion. 
It was one of the most important hours in the 
history of the world ; for it determined which 
way a nation would turn, — toward the true 
God, or from him again. 

But so well had the king done that which 
he had attempted, that before his conclusion 
both priests and people saw their sins ; and a 
deep repentance fell upon them. And when 



290 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

the king, seeing his power over them, and 
how their minds were turned aright at last, 
leaning against a pillar of the temple, swore 
that he would destroy every idol in the land, 
break down every heathen altar, drive forth 
every heathen priest, and establish the law of 
God again and compel obedience to it, the 
whole multitude took oath that they would help 
him, and that henceforth they would obey God. 
Then, as with one accord, they rushed into 
the temple ; they seized the images of Baal 
and of Astarte, and the vessels used in their 
worship ; they carried them outside the city 
into the fields beside the brook Kidron ; and 
in their wrath and just indignation they broke 
the image of Baal and the vessels, and ground 
them to powder. The king himself took the 
unclean image of Astarte, and, his face blaz- 
ing with indignation on account of the degra- 
dation which that worship had brought to his 
nation, trampled it under his feet, and ground 
it to dust beneath his heels. Truly, that was 
a wonderful scene, and must have lived always 
in the memory of those who witnessed it, — the 
righteous and good king grinding to dust the 



THE BOY KING — JO SI AH. 291 

images of false deities, in the sight of assembled 
thousands. 

But the adoration of idols was not the 
only manner in which the people had strayed 
from the true religion. Sun-worship was very 
general through that part of the East ; and 
this had been added to the worship of the 
images. In the city near the temple were 
horses and chariots which had been dedicated 
to the worship of the sun, their significance 
being that they symbolized the daily journey 
of the sun across the heavens. After finish- 
ing their work in the temple, the people 
turned to these, and burned up the chariots, and 
took away the horses and put them to other 
uses. Then they went on to the Yale of 
Tophet, where still another horrible species of 
idolatry had been practised. Here were altars 
and fires to Moloch ; and children were passed 
through these fires as offerings to this terrible 
demon. This was one of the most fearful of 
all the heathen ceremonies, for it exposed thou- 
sands of innocent children to danger and suffer- 
ing and to death. Without pausing, these altars 
were torn down and utterly destroyed. 



292 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

But even when all this had been done, Jo- 
siah did not stop in his good work. This was 
but the beginning. He started forthwith on a 
tour throughout the land, accompanied by a 
train of his officers and people, and everywhere 
wrecked the altars, tearing them down with 
ploughs and mattocks, and burning the images. 
The whole country was filled with these altars 
to the false gods. At every corner of Jerusa- 
lem they stood ; and the images could be counted 
by thousands. Josiah broke down and destroyed 
them all ; he cleansed the land, even to de- 
stroying the sepulchres of the false priests. 

When the work of destruction was finished, 
he revived the religion of Jehovah in purity 
and magnificence throughout the land, refitted 
the temple, and re-established all the ceremonies 
of the Mosaic ritual. 

The people were called together from all parts to 
a great Passover Feast ; and never was this cere- 
mony more splendidly celebrated than at that time. 

From this dated an era of renewed prosperity 
that continued for many years. Everything pros-' 
pered, and the nation was happy, and God was 
honored by his people. 



THE BOY KING — J0S1AS. 293 

In the year 608 B.C., the Egyptian, Necho, 
invaded Syria. Josiah gathered his armies and 
resisted his advance, and a battle took place 
near Megiddo, on the edge of the great plain 
of Esdraelon, " the battle-field of Palestine." 
Josiah was wounded by an arrow ; and being 
taken to Jerusalem he died there soon after, 
and was buried with great honors. 

He was the purest king of Judah, the bright- 
est name for piety and religious zeal of all 
the successors of David. He shares with Hez- 
ekiah the praise of having walked perfectly in 
the way of his ancestor David. 



294 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 



THE PERSIAN BOY: 

CYRUS. 

The boy of whom we are now to tell you was 
of the sort that all young people like to know. 
He was a bold, intrepid youth, very fond of 
sports, of out-of-door life, and of adventure. 
All through his boyhood his life was made up 
almost wholly of these. He was of a brilliant 
mind also ; and his mental qualities, in combina- 
tion with his courage and physical prowess, had 
much to do with the attainment of that title 
by which he is known in history — Cyrus the 
Great. 

Cyrus the Great was the founder of the an- 
cient Persian Empire. He was a great warrior, 
and he occupies a peculiar relation to Bible 
history. Although a Pagan, he is expressly 
declared by the Scriptures to have been raised 
up for a special purpose in regard to the chosen 
people of Israel. In the prophecies of Isaiah, 
the Lord said of Cyrus : — 



THE PERSIAN BOY — CYRUS. 295 

" He is my shepherd, and shall perform all 
my pleasure : even to saying to Jerusalem, 
Thou shalt be built ; and to the temple, Thy 
foundation shall be laid." And in the first 
verse of the next chapter we read, " Thus saith 
the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right 
hand I have holden, to subdue nations before 
him." 

We see, therefore, that Cyrus was in a real 
sense very intimately connected with the current 
of Bible story. Not only did he accomplish 
great things, but it was clearly set forth be- 
forehand that he was selected to do them. Thus 
it will be of interest for us to see the methods 
by which the Lord raised to manhood this boy 
whom he had chosen to perforin a great work 
in the world. He has used many strange in- 
struments, and has brought them from many 
places that seem strange to us ; we may, there- 
fore, not be surprised that Cyrus was called for 
this grave and special service in relation to the 
chosen people of God, even though he was 
one of those who were in opposition to him. 

Somewhat more than five hundred years before 
the beginning of the Christian era, Cyrus was 



296 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

born in Persia, a land which at that time had 
"given little attention to literature, science, or 
art, or to any of the things that help make a 
progressive civilization. The kingdom was then 
much smaller than it now is, and consisted of 
scarcely more than an aggregation of half-bar- 
barous, pastoral tribes, which, becoming united 
later, and directed by Cyrus, spread the bound- 
aries of the kingdom, and greatly increased its 
power by the force of arms. 

At the time of Cyrus the country possessed 
little written language — almost none, except the 
sacred books of the priests. These were in char- 
acters illegible to all except those who had been 
especially taught to interpret them. So the lad 
received little or no education in our sense of 
the term ; that is, in the learning that comes 
from the study of books. But you will see that 
he still was not ignorant ; for he studied that 
larger book, — the world. 

There are several accounts by different writers 
of the parentage and early days of this youth. 
Although he had a great destiny before him, and 
made a great name, yet his time is so remote, 
and such various narratives of his early days 



THE PERSIAN BOY— CYRUS. 297 

have come down to us, that we cannot be 
certain that our story is wholly accurate. But 
it will at least give us some idea of his boy- 
hood, and inform us regarding the traditions 
that grow up about great heroes. It will give 
us, too, some idea of the strong character of 
the youth, — the sort of character from which 
heroes are made, — and of the conditions of life 
under which boys of noble or princely birth were 
trained in Persia and Media ; for these were the 
two countries in which the boyhood of Cyrus 
was passed. 

Cyrus was the son of Cambyses, King of Persia. 
The King of Media, the country adjoining, was 
Astyages. According to the account which we 
shall follow, it was Mandane, the daughter of 
this king, that Cambyses married. Thus Astya- 
ges, King of Media, was the grandfather of Cyrus. 

Even before his birth, it seems that Cyrus was 
destined for a strange and adventurous career. 
Herodotus tells the following story : — 

While the daughter of Astyages was still a 
girl at home, the king dreamed of a great flood 
that destroyed his city and kingdom. He thought 
this indicated that his daughter would have a 



298 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

son who would seize the supreme power. Every 
dream was then supposed to have its meaning, 
and to be sent for a purpose. So the king 
heeded the warning he thought the dream to 
be ; he gave his daughter in marriage to a for- 
eign prince in order to get her away from his 
own country, so that her child might not become 
the enemy to his own power. 

A year later he had a second dream. This 
time it was of a vine that grew out of his 
daughter, and covered the land. The soothsayers 
told him this indicated that her son would still 
be king. He therefore sent for his daughter to 
come to him on a visit. She came, and her 
child was born in his palace. 

Then Astyages sent for Harpagus, one of his 
chief men, and bade him put the boy to death. 
But when Harpagus had received the child, he 
was touched by his appearance, and his heart 
relented. Perhaps the fact that the child was 
splendidly clad, and so had some appearance of 
royal bearing and state, had something to do 
with his decision. Be that as it may, Harpagus 
did not carry out the king's decision. Instead, 
he sent for a herdsman, Mithridates, and ordered 



THE PERSIAN BOY — CYRUS. 299 

him to expose the boy in the wilderness. Per- 
haps Harpagus thought that he might thus rid 
his master, the king, of the child, and still not 
have the boy's murder directly upon his own 
hands. Doubtless he expected that the child 
would perish from starvation and exposure, or 
be devoured by wild beasts, 

But Mithridates in turn disobeyed, and took 
him to his hut, where his wife had at that time 
a new-born babe, which was dead. The children 
were exchanged, and the dead babe was exposed 
in the wilderness. At the end of three days he 
reported to Harpagus that the child was buried. 

For ten years Cyrus lived with this shepherd, 
and was reared in every way as the son of 
Mithridates, taking his part in the common and 
severe toil that was the daily lot of his foster- 
father. He grew up strong and active. Early 
in life, however, he evinced tendencies of char- 
acter that were hardly to be expected in the 
son of an ignorant and plodding shepherd. He 
was a leader always among his companions. 
One day a son of one of the court officials came 
from the city, and played with the shepherd-boy 
and his companions. In their play they had it 



800 BIBLE BOYS AND GIBLS. 

that one was king, and the others his subjects. 
Cyrus was the king, and this boy proved an 
unruly subject, and would not obey ; thereupon 
Cyrus beat him. The lad told his father of the 
treatment he had received from this low-born 
boy, and the officer reported the matter to the 
king. Astyages sent for the peasant and his 
supposed son, and was at once struck by the 
appearance and manner of Cyrus, who justified 
himself when accused by saying that he was act- 
ing king, and had but carried out the character. 

The king was so greatly impressed by this 
boy's manner that he dismissed all but the 
peasant and the lad, and demanded to know 
who he really was. After telling a lie, the 
herdsman finally confessed. Astyages was de- 
lighted to find that he had a grandson of such 
character and promise, and yet was angry that 
he had been disobeyed. To punish the one 
who had so deceived him, he made a feast and 
invited Harpagus to it, and served to this father 
for meat the body of his own child. 

The magicians, probably divining that Asty- 
ages no longer wished to be rid of the boy, told 
him that as the latter had been a monarch in 



THE PERSIAN BOY — CYRUS. 301 

play, the prophecy was already fulfilled, and the 
danger to his kingdom from Cyrus was past. 

Astyages now sent him to Persia to his par- 
ents, who were overwhelmed with joy at finding 
him alive and safe ; and they at once began to 
give him such education and training as the 
conditions of their life made possible, and as 
befitted one of his rank. Thus they endeav- 
ored to make up for the deprivations the boy 
had suffered during his herdsman's life. He 
had for his companions the sons of the nobles 
and officers of the court, and they were all 
trained together in the royal palaces. They 
were not generally taught to read ; for as we 
have explained, there were no books except those 
of the priests, and it is doubtful if Cyrus was 
educated in this manner at all. But he was 
trained for the duties of life. In the schools, 
justice, as it was called, was one of the chief 
things taught. The teacher explained to his 
scholars the principles of right and wrong ; the 
laws ; the rules of controversv : and trained them 
to apply these principles among themselves. 

In order to teach them fully how to apply 
his instructions, mock courts were held, in which 



302 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

some of the youths were tried for real or fan- 
cied offences, while others acted as the accusers 
and defenders, and still another as the judge. 
Cyrus, being once the judge, was held to have 
given a wrong decision, for which he was pun- 
ished. The case was as follows, and you may 
see from it that he had his own original and 
well-defined ideas of what really constituted jus- 
tice. 

A big boy had taken the coat of a smaller lad, 
and given his own to the latter. The small 
boy complained ; and the matter was referred 
to Cyrus, who decided that each should keep 
the coat that fitted him. In this case, this was 
the reverse of the real ownership, as the big 
boy's coat was too small for him, and the small 
boy's was too large. It would seem that this 
should have been a wholly satisfactory arrange- 
ment ; but the teacher decided that Cyrus was 
wrong, for the point at issue was not the fit 
of the coats, but their ownership. 

The physical training of the boys also received 
careful attention ; they were taught to run, to 
wrestle, to use weapons, and to take many 
other daily exercises. By turns, they hunted 




The Persian Boy: Cykus. 



THE PERSIAN BOY — CYRUS. 303 

with the king in the mountains and forests. 
This developed their courage also ; for they en- 
countered many fierce beasts, and had for arms 
only a bow, a quiver of arrows, a shield, a sword, 
or dagger which was worn in a scabbard at 
the side and two javelins. Cyrus excelled in all 
sports and deeds of prowess. He was very beau- 
tiful ; he was tall, graceful, and possessed a 
striking face ; he was frank and open in his dis- 
position, speaking honestly and fearlessly ; he 
was kind-hearted and amiable, — in all, a most 
winning boy. 

When he was twelve years old, his grand- 
father desired to see him once more, and invited 
Cyrus to visit him in Media. The boy went 
thither, and was greatly impressed by the mag- 
nificence of Astyages and his court, which much 
excelled that of his father in Persia, At his 
home the people of the court dressed very plainly, 
but in Media very elegantly. King Astyages. 
his grandfather, wore a purple robe, embroidered, 
and strewn with many precious stones. He had 
flowing locks, and his face was painted. Cyrus, 
when he saw him, exclaimed at once, " What a 
handsome man my grandfather is ! " The king 



304 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

was greatly amused at this. Then his mother 
asked the lad whether his father or his grand- 
father were the handsomer. Cyrus shrewdly 
answered that his father was the handsomest 
man in Persia, and his grandfather the hand- 
somest one in Media. 

He attached little importance to the fine 
clothes given him, and wished to continue to 
wear his plainer garments. So that he does 
not appear to have been proud regarding his 
personal appearance, nor to have attached much 
importance to such minor details as the way in 
which one was clothed. 

Horseback riding was a custom not yet much 
in vogue in Persia, but practised in Media. 
This exercise the lad took a liking to at once, 
and quickly learned to ride. His grandfather 
gave him his best horses ; and this was a thing 
of which Cyrus was proud, if not of his fine 
clothes. 

The Socian, or cup-bearer, took a great dislike 
to him, which seemed strange, for the boy made 
friends of almost every one. Perhaps the reason 
is explained in the following anecdote : — 

Astyages gave a great entertainment, and sup- 



THE PERSIAN BOY — CYRUS. 305 

posed Cyrus would be delighted by the variety 
of delicacies served in costly vessels ; but he 
was not much pleased by them. The king 
asked the reason, and Cyrus replied that it was 
a trouble to eat a little of so many things. 

"How do you do in Persia?" asked the king. 

" We have plain bread and meat, and eat 
when we are hungry." 

Astyages laughed, and told him him he might 
eat only plain food if he wished. Cyrus then 
asked if the king would give him all the lux- 
uries before him, that he might do whatever 
he wished with them. When this request had 
been granted, he called up the attendants, and 
gave them, for various kindnesses, each some 
portion of the repast. One of them had taught 
him to ride, another had given him a javelin, 
etc. But he gave nothing to the cup-bearer ; 
and Astyages asked why he had not, saying that 
the Socian was his own favorite. 

Cyrus asked, " Why so ? Why are you so 
fond of him ? " 

Astyages said, " He pours out the wine ele- 
gantly and gracefully for me, and then hands 
me the cup." 



306 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

Cyrus said that he could do it just as well ; 
and to prove this he took the king's goblet, and 
went from the banquet-room. Presently he re- 
turned, stepping grandly, as if to mock the 
Socian. This amused the king and the entire 
company. 

But when Cyrus went up to Astyages and 
extended the goblet, making a low obeisance as 
he did so, it was observed that he had either 
purposely overlooked or had forgotten one im- 
portant part of the ceremonial. He did not 
taste the wine, as the rule was for the cup- 
bearer to do, before giving it to the king. This 
was done by pouring a little into the hand, 
and drinking from that, and was to show that 
the wine was not poisoned. Trickery and crime 
were so common in all high places that sover- 
eigns were compelled to take such precautions 
to protect themselves against even those whom 
they most trusted. 

So when the king saw that Cyrus had not 
done this, although he knew it should be done, 
he asked him why he had not tasted the wine. 
Possibly he even feared some deceit in this boy 
whom he so liked and favored. Judge, then, his 



THE PERSIAN BOY — CYRUS. 307 

surprise and consternation when Cyrus answered, 
" Because it is poisoned ! " 

"How so?" exclaimed the king. 

" Why," said the boy, " the other day, when 
you all drank, it made you crazy. This is the 
same. It must be that it is poisoned." 

This was a rebuke to the intemperance of 
the court, and illustrated the fearlessness of the 
lad. Perhaps it was because he had before com- 
mented upon this habit of wine-drinking that 
he had incurred the enmity of the Socian, who 
was the chief officer at these revelries. 

Another reason, which is given by one of the 
old writers, is that Cyrus cared too little for 
the ceremonies of the court, which were the 
especial charge of the Socian. He insisted upon 
doing many things in his own boyish fashion, 
and did not willingly obey the rules that the 
Socian laid down, thus seeming to have too little 
regard for the dignity of that officer. As the 
Socian was probably of a small mind, and some- 
what jealous of his position, he magnified this 
into a very serious offence, and in consequence 
disliked the lad. 

When the mother of Cyrus was ready to re- 



308 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

turn to Persia, Astyages asked that the boy be 
left with him. As an argument he said that 
he would let him use all his horses. This won 
the lad, and he remained with his grandfather. 
Now he applied himself anew to the sports and 
occupations that would make him strong and 
active, such as riding, vaulting, leaping, throw- 
ing the javelin, and drawing the bow. He was 
not afraid to contest with boys stronger than 
himself ; and he would challenge such, and take 
defeat good-naturedly, glad to have had the ex- 
ercise and the trial of strength. When he failed, 
he would join in the laugh against himself as 
heartily as any. 

The boys were permitted to hunt in the park, 
and this they did to such good purpose that 
presently they had killed all the deer that were 
there. Then Cyrus asked the king to allow him 
to go into the forests to hunt with the men. 
He had become more sedate and careful as he had 
grown older, and so Astyages gave him permis- 
sion to do as he wished in this matter. But 
the king cautioned the more experienced hunt- 
ers to have a care for the lad, and see that he 
was not exposed to needless danger. As they 



TEE PERSIAN BOY — CYRUS. 309 

entered the forest they told Cyrus of tne fierce 
beasts that were to be avoided, and warned him 
that he must hunt only stags, wild goats, and 
other of the more harmless animals. 

But notwithstanding these cautions, when a 
stag was aroused Cyrus dashed after it. Com- 
ing to a gulch, his horse stopped suddenly and 
threw the lad forward, and rushed on. All who 
saw this were terrified, as they thought the lad 
had been thrown and killed. But Cyrus was 
all right. He had clung to the mane of the 
galloping horse until he could regain the sad- 
dle ; then he kept on in the pursuit until he 
had killed the stag. 

When that was done, not yet satisfied with 
his prowess, he pursued a wild boar that had 
been started, and killed it by thrusting his jave- 
lin into its head. This was always a danger- 
ous thing to attempt ; for the wild boar is a 
very savage beast, and its head is armed with 
long tusks, with which it does great damage 
when it can get its opponent into close quarters. 

When he had done this and the hunters had 
overtaken him, he asked for these two animals, 
that he might take them home to his grand- 



810 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

father. He wished to show the king what a 
mighty hunter his boy had proven himself to 
be. But the men said, "No"; he will be dis- 
pleased at the danger you have been in." 

" Let him punish me, then ; but let me show 
him the beasts." 

This was done ; and after his pleased grand- 
father had expressed delight at his prowess, Cyrus 
divided the animals among his boy companions. 

When Cyrus was fifteen an event occurred 
that clearly showed the bent of the lad's nature 
and ambitions, and that marked the course he 
was to follow. A great hunt was given in honor 
of the marriage ceremonies of his uncle, Cyaxa- 
res. Quite a little army started on this expedi- 
tion, and Cyrus was one of the company. They 
kept on for a long distance ; and when the fron- 
tier was finally reached, Cyaxares went on an 
expedition against men, rather than beasts. In 
the battle which followed, Cyrus distinguished 
himself. So well did he do that the fame of the 
event reached Persia, and caused his father to 
think that if he were beginning to be a soldier 
he had better come home and employ himself 
in the service of his own country. He was con- 



THE PERSIAN BOY— CYBtTS. 311 

sequently recalled from the court of his grand- 
father, where he had been accorded so many 
privileges, and had been given so many oppor- 
tunities to prove what he could do. The gener- 
osity of his character is shown by his actions 
upon leaving, when he distributed all his costly 
ornaments and all his elegant clothes among his 
boy friends. 

Upon the death of his father, Cyrus became 
king of Persia. Until this time his own country 
had been a sort of dependency upon Media. 
But upon coming to the throne, Cyrus at once 
rebelled against this, and prepared to oppose the 
claims of his grandfather. The latter at once 
put his troops into the field, and proceeded to 
bring the young king to terms. At the head of 
the army of Astyages was Harpagus, in whom 
the memory of the murder of his son had 
rankled all these years. He saw that the op- 
portunity for revenge upon Astyages was at 
hand. He availed himself of it, and deserted 
to Cyrus with a large portion of his army. 
This gave Cyrus much greater strength than 
his grandfather possessed, and ended by mak- 
ing him ruler of Media as well as of Persia. 



312 BIBLE BOYS AND GIBLS. 

Having thus begun his career of conquest, 
he went on, becoming constantly greater and 
more powerful, until at last he undertook the 
capture of Babylon, which was then the real 
centre of civilization. 

When this city had yielded to him, he gave 
permission to the Jews, who had been carried 
captive to Babylon, to return to their own 
country, and to rebuild Jerusalem. This was 
a great event in biblical history, and has had 
a great influence on the whole future of the 
Jewish nation. 

After all these conquests, and w T hen he had 
become in truth Cyrus the Great, he fell at 
last in battle with a savage tribe in the north- 
east. 



THE PATRIOT GIRL — ESTHER. 313 



THE PATRIOT GIRL: 

ESTHER 

The story of Esther belongs to the time of 
Xerxes, commonly called the Great, who reigned 
from 485 to 464 B.C., and who was king of 
Persia. This king is known in the Book of 
Esther by the name of Ahasuerus. He was a 
very powerful monarch, ruler over a great part 
of the world as then known, — "From India even 
unto Ethiopia, over an hundred and seven and 
twenty provinces." 

His capital city, where the events narrated 
in the Book of Esther took place, was Shushan, 
or, as it is known to secular writers, Susa. It 
was a very ancient city, and from the time of 
Darius was a chief residence of the Achaemenian 
kings. It lay in a plain between the Kerkhah 
and the Dizful rivers. It was a large city, having 
a circuit of from fifteen to twenty miles. The 
remains of the great palace, which was the im- 
mediate centre of the events told here, still exist. 



£14 BIBLE BOYS AND G1BLS. 

Xerxes was a typical Oriental tyrant, with- 
out regard for human life or rights ; he knew 
no law but his own will, and permitted no 
restraint upon that. 

The life of the kino; and the court was given 
over to great indulgences and luxurious living. 
Feasting and pleasures were the things to which 
their minds and time were devoted ; and one 
revel was but ended when another was begun. 

In the third year of his reign Xerxes gave 
a great feast, that lasted one hundred and 
eighty days, and to which were invited all the 
princes and great nobles of his empire. In its 
magnificence, and in the luxury and abundance 
of all that was provided, it was meant to ex- 
cel anything that had before been attempted. 
This was no sooner finished than another fol- 
lowed, which lasted for seven days, and which 
included as guests all the people, both of high 
and low degree. This was given in the court 
of the garden of the palace, as so many guests 
were bidden that room could not be found within 
the palace itself. At the same time the beauti- 
ful queen, Vashti, also made a feast in her own 
apartments for the women. 



THE PATRIOT GIRL — ESTHER. Si 5 

On the last day of this seven days' revel the 
king was intoxicated by wine, and so far forgot 
the dignity and respect that was due his queen, 
as to boast to the assembly of her beauty. Fi- 
nally he ordered his officers to bring the queen 
before him unveiled, that he might show the 
princes and the people that he had not been 
speaking idly, but that Yashti was indeed very 
beautiful. 

At that time, as is still the case in some por- 
tions of the East, it was considered a shameful 
thing for a woman to appear in public unveiled. 
Except in the retirement of their own homes, 
in the immediate circle of their families, the 
women kept their faces concealed by a veil 
or covering. This which the king commanded 
was therefore something; which Yashti consid- 
ered, as would any other woman of station, an 
immodest act. It shocked her sense of propri- 
ety ; and she knew, besides, that it would be 
beneath her dignity as queen to comply. She 
knew very well that the king and his followers 
had been drinking heavily ; to go before that 
crowd of revellers, and take the veil from her 
face, that the excited people, who were already 



316 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

beside themselves with wine, might stare at her 
and talk about her, was a thing that she could 
not and would not do. She was aware that it 
might be dangerous to refuse ; for even the 
queen was not permitted to stand in the way 
of the king's will, nor to refuse obedience to 
any of his commands. But she made her choice 
promptly and boldly, nevertheless, and sent word 
to the king that she would not obey. 

On hearing this he was very angry, and at 
once determined that she should be punished for 
thus presuming to disobey his command ; at once 
he asked his counsellors what should be done. 
These men were among the revellers about 
him, and were, like the rest, tipsy with drink ; 
yet they assumed an air of great wisdom, and 
debated the question gravely, and gave their 
advice. They raid that the queen ought to be 
deposed ; not alone because she had disobeyed 
the command of the king, although that was 
cause enough, but because she had set a bad 
example to all the other wives in the land. If 
this matter were overlooked they feared all the 
wives in Persia would quote it as a precedent 
for disobeying their husbands ; and as such a 



THE PATRIOT GIRL — ESTHER. 317 

thing was not to be permitted, they advised 
that an example be made of the queen, to serve 
as a lesson to all other women. 

The king acted on this advice, and issued a 
decree divorcing this good woman, whom he 
should, instead, have honored for her act ; for by 
it she had won the esteem of all right-thinking 
people. 

After he had meted out this punishment, de- 
posing Vashti, the question arose as to how her 
place should be filled. To accomplish this the 
king issued another decree, — that beautiful young 
virgins should be sought everywhere throughout 
his dominions, and brought to the palace and 
put in charge of Hege, the king's chamberlain. 
From these, when they were brought before 
him, the king was to make choice of the one 
who most pleased him. 

We must now go back a little, and tell you 
that, at this time, the Jews had been scattered 
among all nations, and their own national exist- 
ence, for the time, destroyed. They were a 
downtrodden people, who suffered much at the 
hands of the mighty and proud Persians under 
Xerxes, 



318 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

Among these Jews in Persia was one, Mor- 
decai by name, who held some office about the 
palace. He was a Benjamite, who had been 
carried away from Jerusalem when that city 
was taken by Nebuchadnezzar. He had a cousin, 
named Esther, a most beautiful girl, whom he 
had reared as his adopted daughter. Being well 
aware of the unusual attractiveness of this young 
girl, he conceived a plan that she should be a 
candidate for the queenship, hoping that if she 
succeeded in attaining that lofty position, she 
might be of some service to her people. But in 
order that she should stand any chance at all of 
being chosen, it was necessary to conceal the fact 
that she was a Jewess. 

Thus Esther was sent among the candidates 
to the palace, with perhaps a greater desire that 
she might be the chosen one than possessed 
the hearts of any other of the maidens ; for she 
had loftier hopes of what she would accomplish 
if the honor should fall to her lot. 

All these girls were to be kept twelve months 
in the palace before being presented to the 
king. In the early part of this period Esther, 
by her charming manners, had won the esteem 



THE PATRIOT GIRL — ESTHER. 319 

of the chamberlain ; he gave her the best of 
everything, and treated her with the greatest 
consideration. She had seven maids as her per- 
sonal attendants, to wait upon her, and she en- 
joyed all the luxuries that could be commanded. 
It must certainly have been an exciting and 
interesting time for all those young girls, as 
they waited the possibility of becoming the queen 
of the greatest monarch in the world. 

When the time had arrived for the inspec- 
tion of the girls, they were brought before King 
Xerxes. He was so charmed by the beauty and 
attractiveness of Esther that she was preferred 
above all the others, and he placed the royal 
crown on her Jiead. Then he made a great 
feast and proclaimed his marriage to her. 

Surrounded as he was by courtiers and syco- 
phants, Xerxes was yet not secure upon his 
throne. Plots and conspiracies were always rife, 
and the king hardly knew whom he might 
trust. Those most in his favor might be the 
very ones who were plotting against him, in 
the hope of elevating themselves. 

Such a conspiracy was discovered by Mordecai, 
soon after the marriage of the king to his kins- 



320 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

woman. He informed the queen, who told the 
king. The conspirators were arrested, the case 
against them was proven, and they were exe- 
cuted. 

This, of course, put Mordecai into favor with 
the king. But before long, in spite of the 
great service he had rendered, he, too, found 
himself in trouble. 

The king had appointed to one of the places 
of highest honor in the kingdom a man named 
Haman, who seems to have been a person of 
such great vanity that he wished to have a uni- 
versal reverence accorded him, hardly second to 
that given the king. Whenever he passed by 
he wished all to acknowledge his greatness by 
bowing, and he persuaded the king to issue a 
decree to this effect. So wherever he went all 
bowed to him humbly, except Mordecai. He 
either knew something about the man which 
disposed him to not even do Haman this out- 
ward respect, or else he considered it contrary 
to the law of his own people, and too much 
like worshipping a man. So Mordecai refused 
to bow down in salute to Haman. 

When Haman noticed this he was very angry ; 



THE PATRIOT GIRL — ESTHER. 321 

and when he learned that this other man was 
a Jew. he determined not only to destroy him, 
but the whole Jewish race as well. 

Haman therefore accused the Jews to the 
king, and inflamed him against them so that 
Xerxes was persuaded to issue a decree for their 
destruction on a certain clay. This order was 
sent forth ■ to all the provinces. At once Mor- 
decai and all the Jews were plunged into mourn- 
ing because of the fate that seemed so near and 
so certain. Mordecai himself put on sackcloth 
and ashes, and went out into the city crying 
aloud bitterly. News of this was brought to 
Esther, and she sent to inquire the cause of his 
sorrow. Mordecai told Hatach, the messenger, 
the facts, and showed him a copy of the de- 
cree. Hatach returned and told the queen. He 
also told her that Mordecai urged that she 
should go personally to the king, and use her 
influence to persuade him to revoke his cruel 
order. 

Esther then sent her messenger back again 
to her cousin, saying there was a law that any 
one who went into the king's presence in his 
inner court without being called should be put 



322 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

to death, unless, through kindness, the king 
should extend his golden sceptre ; and as she 
had not now been summoned before the king 
for thirty days, she might not be called for a 
long time, so that the fatal day might first ar- 
rive. 

Mordecai told her in reply that even she was 
not safe, and that in trying to save her people 
she would also save herself. 

Then Esther sent word to him that he should 
call all the Jews together, and make a fast for 
her for three days and nights ; that she and 
her maidens would also fast ; and at the end 
of that time she would go in to the king. To 
this decision she nobly and bravely added, " And 
if I perish, I perish." 

So the fast was made ; and on the third day 
she went into the king's presence. When he 
saw her approach he held out his sceptre, and 
she drew near and touched it. Then he asked 
her what her request was, and promised to ful- 
fil it, even if it amounted to as much as half 
of his kingdom. She very wisely did not make 
known her plea at once, but asked that he and 
Haman should come to a banquet that she had 



THE PATRIOT GIRL — ESTHER 323 

prepared. This was granted ; and when they 
sat at the banquet the king again asked what 
her petition was, and again promised that he 
would fulfil it " to the half of his kingdom." 
Esther invited them to another banquet of wine 
on the next clay. This also was accepted; and 
Haman went home greatly pleased, rejoicing in 
his good fortune, and the marks of favor which 
he thought the queen had thus given him. But 
on the way he passed Mordecai, who did not 
bow to him ; and Haman was angered. When 
he arrived at home he boasted to his wife of 
the honors he had received, and told her of the 
banquet to which he was invited for the next 
day. But he added, " All this availeth me 
nothing so long as I see Mordecai the Jew 
sitting in the kind's gate." 

So his wife and friends advised him to have 
a gallows builded, and on the morrow ask the 
king that Mordecai be hanged upon it, thus 
ridding himself of his troublesome enemy. So 
Haman ordered the gallows to be made. 

That very night the king was sleepless ; and 
according to his custom, he ordered a reader 
to bring him the records of the kingdom, and 



324 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

read them to him. In the course of this read- 
ing his memory was refreshed about the in- 
cidents of the conspiracy against his life, which 
had been revealed by Mordecai. Upon inquir- 
ing what had been done to reward the man 
for thus saving his life, he was told that noth- 
ing at all had been done for him. 

Just at that time, Haman happened to come, 
for the purpose of asking that Mordecai be 
hanged ; and he was brought into the royal 
presence. As soon as he had entered, the king 
asked him what should be done for the man 
whom the king delighted to honor. Haman, 
thinking that of course he was the man who 
was meant, answered that he should be arrayed 
in the royal apparel, and placed on the king's 
horse ; that the crown be set on his head by 
the noblest of princes ; and that he should be 
taken on horseback through the city, with the 
proclamation, " This is the man whom the 
king delights to honor." 

The idea pleased Xerxes, and he astounded 
Haman by ordering that all this should be done 
to Mordecai the Jew. But the king's command 
had to be obeyed, and Haman himself was com- 



THE PATRIOT GIRL — ESTHER. 325 

pelled to lead Mordecai through the streets, and 
sound abroad the honor of the king to this man 
whom he hated above all. 

After this ceremony was finished, Hainan went 
with the king to the banquet of the queen. 
The king once more asked Esther what was 
her request. She then told him boldly that 
her own life and the lives of all her people 
were in danger. The king was astounded, and 
asked, — 

" Who is he, and where is he, that durst in 
his heart to presume to do so ? " 

Esther said, " It is this Hainan." 

The king in his wrath left the room, return- 
ing in a few moments with his men, who cov- 
ered the face of Hainan, as a sign that he was 
doomed. Then one of his followers told the 
king that a gallows was already prepared, on 
which Haman had intended to have Mordecai 
hanged. Then said the king, " Hang Hainan 
thereon.'' 

When Esther had told Xerxes of her relation- 
ship to Mordecai, the king called for him, put 
his own ring upon his finger, and appointed 
him to the place of Haman. 



B26 BIBLE BOYS ANB GIRLS. 

But Esther's work was not yet done, for the 
decree remained in force. She therefore ven- 
tured again to make a petition, and asked that 
the decree might be reversed. But this the 
king could not do ; for it was the law of the 
Medes and Persians that the royal acts could 
not be revoked. But he told Esther and Mor- 
decai that they should do anything on behalf 
of the Jews that they saw fit, and it would be 
sealed with the royal seal. 

Mordecai then wrote orders granting the Jews 
the privilege of self-defence. Thus the Jews 
armed themselves ; and when the day came on 
which they were to have been destroyed, they 
defended themselves, and slaughtered great num- 
bers of their foes. And it became a custom, 
from that day to this, that the Jews should 
celebrate that great deliverance on its anniver- 
sary, which is still called by them the Feast of 
Purim. 



THE DIVINE BOY — JESUS. 327 



THE DIVINE BOY: 

JESUS. 

It is not easy to realize this — the boyhood, 
upon earth, of the Son of God. Yet that is 
what we wish to present to you — the Divine 
Boy, who yet was human, who had his pleas- 
ures and sorrows, his sports and toil, his com- 
panions, his studies and his teachers, just as 
you have them all. To do this, we will pass 
over much with which you are familiar, and try 
to give you a picture of his home, his country, 
the people about him, the houses they lived in, 
and their dress and manners and customs. Then, 
in the midst of this, you can put the boy him- 
self, and so realize somewhat just the kind of 
boyhood he had. 

You know well the story of the birth of 
Jesus, — the announcement to his mother by the 
angels, the appearance of the star, the song of 
the angels which the shepherds heard, the jour- 
ney of the Wise Men, the manger cradle in 



328 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

Bethlehem, the murder of infants by Herod, the 
flight into Egypt. We shall not weary you 
by repeating those things. But, as we wish to 
tell you of some things with which perhaps you 
are not familiar, and thus help you to under- 
stand his boyhood, as we have said above, we 
shall begin with his life in Nazareth. 

The Divine Babe had been brought by his 
mother and foster-father to this little town in 
Galilee, which was a place of about three thou- 
sand people. It was only an obscure little vil- 
lage nestled among the limestone hills, of so 
slight importance that it may be said to have 
had no history before the time of Christ. 
Josephus, the historian, mentions all the towns 
about it, but never alludes to this one. 

In most of the towns throughout that country 
a garrison of Roman soldiers was stationed ; but 
none was in Nazareth, so that it must have 
been thought of very little consequence indeed. 
It had only one kind of notoriety, and that not 
of a very enviable sort ; for there was a proverb 
that " no good thing could come out of Naz- 
areth." 

The houses of the village were built from the 



THE DIVINE BOY — JESUS. 329 

native limestone, which in that region dissolves 
very readily under the action of the weather ; 
so that it is likely that all the town of Christ's 
day has gone back to the dust. The traveller can 
now discover few things that remain the same ; 
one such is the fountain at the top of the hill 
back of the town, to which the people in the 
days of Jesus went for water, just as they are 
doing still ; the natural scenery, which is made 
up almost wholly of the rough hills, remains the 
same, as do also the manners and customs of 
the people, their style of building, and way of 
living. This latter fact is true of all Oriental 
peoples ; for they do not change their fashions 
as do we, but continue to follow the habits of 
their ancestors, and even take pride in their 
changelessness. 

Further than that, the very obscurity and in- 
significance of Nazareth has had the effect of 
keeping it from change, more than any other 
place in Palestine. Jerusalem and most of the 
notable towns and cities have been destroyed 
many times. Great alterations have taken place 
in many of them ; but little Nazareth has gone 
along, or rather stood still, while the whirl of 



330 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

change and innovation has dashed all around 
and past it. 

Thus it happens that we can know a great 
deal about the conditions of life under which 
Jesus grew up. • Nazareth was then, as now, 
a gray village in a valley, climbing the hill- 
side. Fourteen hills with bare limestone tops 
were in view. From the crests of these hills 
could be seen a wide and beautiful prospect. 
Flocks and herds, vineyards, fig and olive or- 
chards, were visible in the near landscape. To 
the north mountains reared their heads, among 
them the famous Hermon ; to the east was 
Tabor; twelve miles to the west was Carmel. 
Many towns were in sight ; four miles away 
was Sepphoris, built by Herod Antipas • while 
far off, to the south-west, could be seen the blue 
glint of the Mediterranean. Southward was 
Esdraelon, the scene of many battles. The cara- 
van roads to and from Damascus, the Medi- 
terranean, and the Sea of Galilee, passed near 
by, and but three days' journey distant was the 
capital city, Jerusalem. 

There were in Nazareth no theatres, baths, or 
temples for the amusement, use. or instruction 



THE DIVINE BOY — JESUS. 331 

of the people, such as Herod had introduced into 
many of the towns and cities. The influences 
of the place were all Jewish, and the training 
of Jesus was in that line. With the scenes of 
so many events famous in Hebrew history near 
at hand, his mother must have early made him 
familiar with the stories of Gideon and Deborah 
and Barak, of Saul and Samuel, of Jonathan, 
Elijah, and Jehu. 

The home influences about him were very 
strong, as the Jews have always been a do- 
mestic people, fond of their home-life and of 
wife and children. In Nazareth there was also 
a strong atmosphere of respect for women and 
reverence for mothers; so you will see that his 
immediate surroundings were such as would have 
a tendency to develop gentleness and tenderness 
of character. 

While very young he learned from his mother 
the Shema, or elementary Jewish creed ; the 
Psalms were his hymn-book. After that, his 
foster-father taught him the Law, or Thorah, 
which he studied when five or six years of age. 
He knew the Scriptures so intimately as to war- 
rant the belief that his parents possessed a copy 



332 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

of at least a large part of the Old Testament. 
This was a very much greater thing at that 
time than now. In those days books were very 
rare and expensive, and few could afford to own 
them. They were written on the carefully pre- 
pared skins of animals, often the skins of sheep 
or lambs, and were called parchments. Both 
paper and printing were as yet unknown. 

Not only were these books expensive because 
made of leather, but every word had to be pain- 
fully written with a pen. Few of the people 
knew how to write, and it was slow work to 
make a good manuscript on a skin; for they 
were so careful to preserve a pure text of the 
Scriptures that if the scribe made an error of 
one letter or point he had to destroy the whole 
page. So you may see that a great roll of 
skins such as would be required for a copy of 
the whole of the Old Testament would be a 
very costly thing. One of the greatest ambitions 
of pious Jews, however, was to own a manu- 
script of the Bible, and they often devoted all 
the money they could save to purchasing one. 
If they could not get all the books, they bought, 
as many as they could. After being secured, it 



THE DIVINE BOY — JESUS. 333 

was kept in the family for generations as their 
most precious possession ; and so Joseph may 
have had one handed down to him from his 
parents. At any rate, it appears that he did have 
a manuscript of the greater portion of the Bible. 

Synagogues were established by the Jews all 
over the land ; to one of these, from his early 
childhood, Jesus was taken on the Sabbath. He 
was also trained in a house where there was 
daily family worship, and he was taught the 
duty of private prayer ; for we must remember 
that though Jesus was divine, he grew and 
learned like other boys, and did not use his 
power for his own comfort, but went through 
all the experiences of a boy and a man that he 
might be able to sympathize with us. 

Compulsory education was the law of the land; 
so that Jesus attended the synagogue school, 
where the children gathered in a circle about 
the Chuzzan, or minister of the synagogue. This 
differed from the schools of our day, for there 
were no desks or benches. The Chuzzan sat 
cross-legged, with the children grouped about 
him. sitting in the same fashion, and holding 
their manuscripts in their hands. 



334 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

Besides studying with them, Jesus joined in 
childish sports with his schoolfellows, neighbors, 
and foster-brothers. He had good health and 
bodily strength ; for, during all his life, he was 
accustomed to long journeys on foot, to ex- 
posure in all kinds of weather, and to fasting. 
He was undoubtedly a real child. He who in 
mature years took part in the festivities of the 
wedding-feast at Cana would not, in childhood, 
have kept aloof from harmless games with his 
companions. 

The Hebrew language was not then spoken 
by the people, but was read in the synagogues 
and translated aloud. Jesus knew Hebrew, and 
spoke it when talking with the Pharisees, but 
his mother-tongue was Aramaic. At twelve the 
child began to observe the Thorah, or Law, and 
was taken up to the temple feasts, and began 
to fast regularly. 

Every Jew learned a trade, and so Jesus was 
taught that of a carpenter, and worked with his 
foster-father at the carpenter's bench. As life 
was simpler than with us, and necessities fewer, 
they did not work all day long, as carpenters 
and other craftsmen are now compelled to. A 



THE DIVINE BOY — JESUS. 335 

livelihood could be procured without that ; so 
they had much leisure for social enjoyment, for 
communing with nature, and for the study of 
the Bible. Jesus was fond of the out-door life, 
and of nature, and spent much of his time in 
the open air, on the mountains and by the lake- 
side. The climate of Galilee is very genial, 
the scenery is full of natural beauty, and the 
soil is inexhaustible. The pastures are green ; 
far up their slopes the hills are wooded with 
many trees. The fields then, as now, were full 
of red anemones, pink phlox, and rock roses. 
Thus, from boyhood, he was familiar with the 
first-named flowers, which he called " the lilies 
of the field." One of the favorite out-door 
amusements of the children of that time and 
place was playing with tame birds. Turtle 
doves, blue birds, crested larks, storks, and 
many other kinds abound in Galilee ; and these 
he made his pets and companions. 

Another diversion was that of representing 
the ceremonies of marriage and burial. Years 
afterward he alluded to the familiar scenes in 
the words, " Like children sitting in the market- 
place, saying, We have piped unto you, and ye 



336 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

have not danced; we have mourned unto you, 
and ye have not lamented." From this we may 
judge that evidently some of the children did 
not enter thoroughly into the spirit of the game. 
The house in which he lived was a large white- 
washed cube of regular shape, not ornamented 
with any devices of architecture. It contained 
but one room, and was without windows ; the 
only light that entered was that which came 
in through the open door. The woman in the 
parable, who lost a piece of silver, had to light 
a candle to aid her in the search for it ; this 
she would not have needed to do if there had 
been windows. The masonry was rough, partly 
of stone and partly of brick. The poorer people 
lived in houses made of bricks of the unbaked 
clay. All bolts, locks, and keys were of wood. 
The staircase was on the outside, and the family 
sometimes slept on the roof to get the benefit 
of the cooler and purer air. In summer they 
would even leave their houses and live in tents. 
Often, too, tents were put on the housetops, to 
serve there as a protection against the over-abun- 
dant mosquitoes and other insects ; tents, also, 
were always used on the journeys to Jerusalem, 



THE DIVINE BOY — JESUS. 337 

All household furniture was of the simplest 
kind. In warm countries there is not the same 
need for close houses and in-door life that we 
experience in cold climates, and the people live 
very well without many of the things we would 
think most necessary for our comfort. The bed 
in the home of this divine boy was only a port- 
able couch; carpets were put down to sleep 
on, and rolled up and put away again in the 
morning. Mats and cushions were used for seats. 
A few vessels of clay served for all household 
purposes. There was also a chest, and a large 
closet ; in the chest the carpets and coverings, 
which were all made of wool, were stored away 
in hot weather, to keep them from the insects 
and moths. There was no chimney ; but, when 
it was cold, a fire was lighted in a large brazier 
in the middle of the room. 

Among the necessary articles of each house- 
hold were a lamp, a bushel measure, some skins 
for wine, a broom, and a mill, in which the grain 
was ground by hand. The poor man's lamp was 
made of clay, and oil was burned in it. The 
bushel was used as a measure, and for other 
purposes. It was often placed upside down on 



338 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

the ground and used as a table, and the lamp 
put upon it. You will remember that the lamp 
and the bushel were used as an illustration by 
Christ when he said, "Neither do men light a 
candle and put it under a bushel." 

Life went along easily, and perhaps a little 
lazily, in many of these homes, as the people 
were in a measure free from the constant struggle 
and demands made by our modern social life, 
by fashion and by business. Their chief care 
was to provide for the needs of the day, let- 
ting to-morrow take care of itself. Among the 
most arduous of their tasks was that of prepar- 
ing the barley and other grain for their daily 
food. It was all ground in the little hand- 
mill of which we have told you ; this was no 
more than a common mortar in which the grain 
was bruised with a pestle. 

The poor ate barley; the rich used wheaten 
bread. All cooking vessels were of clay or cop- 
per. The dinner at mid-day was the chief meal. 
It was the custom to always wash the hands 
before eating. Then the guest sat down, or 
rather half reclined on cushions and sofas, and 
each returned thanks separately, in a low voice, 



THE DIVINE BOY — JESUS. 339 

After this, one guest gave thanks for all in a 
louder voice, and all said amen. At the meal 
they had neither forks nor spoons, but all used 
their fingers to help themselves to the food. 
Their meats were beef (which was very expen- 
sive, and not used by the poor), veal, mutton, 
kid, poultry, and game. Their vegetables were 
beans and lentils. Oil and salt were commonly 
used in cooking. They made much use, also, of 
such wholesome foods as were provided directly 
by nature, among which were milk, cheese, rai- 
sins, figs, dried fruits, wine, parched corn, honey, 
eggs, and butter. Wild honey was very plen- 
tiful, and was held in much esteem. Near the 
water, fish were constantly in use. 

The clothing of the poor was of wool, the 
raising of sheep being among their chief occu- 
pations. Linen and silk were also worn, but 
their use was confined to the rich. The tunic 
and mantle were generally worn, and were often 
very brilliant, as the Jews delighted in colors. 
The tunic fitted the figure, had sleeves for the 
arms, and came down to the feet. All the gar- 
ments were belted in by a girdle. Both shoes 
and sandals were worn, the former being of soft, 



340 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

while the sandal was of hard leather. The soles 
were made of wood, cane, or the bark of the 
palm-tree. They were fastened on the feet with 
straps made from the skin of the camel or 
hyena. 

The use of perfumes was universal, — aloes, 
myrrh, and cinnamon being most common. The 
house, clothing, and body were all perfumed. The 
men wore a signet ring, and always carried a 
stick or cane, not for ornament, but as a defence 
against dogs, which in Eastern countries prowl 
about in a half-wild state, and are not looked 
upon with affection and kindness as with us. 

Christ is usually represented with bared head, 
but this is a mistake. He, like his countrymen, 
always wore the white turban. This was fast- 
ened under the chin by a cord, and at the side 
fell down to the shoulders and over the tunic. 
He wore his hair rather long, and the beard 
uncut. 

Agriculture was the principal occupation of 
the region, and the land thereabouts was well 
cultivated. The spade was used, and a plough 
which was drawn by asses or oxen. The plough- 
share was of iron, but very heavy, and rough 



THE DIVINE BOY — JESUS. 341 

and awkward in form. The principal crop was 
barley, but wheat was also grown. The oxen 
trod out the grain with their feet, and it was 
winnowed by hand. The chief trees were the 
olive, cypress, terebinth, pomegranate, and fig. 
The vine, olive, and fig were grown for their 
fruit, and were planted in the same orchard. 
The most common domestic animal was the ass, 
which was used as a beast of burden as well as 
for providing milk. The dog was despised, but 
thrived nevertheless in great numbers. Sheep 
were herded in great flocks on the hills and 
plains. Among the wild animals were wolves, 
jackals, and hyenas. Locusts and bees were plen- 
tiful, and the former were used for food. 

Of course Jesus attended church, but not the 
kind to which you are accustomed. His church 
was called a synagogue. It was a large, square 
hall with a portico outside ; in the interior were 
four rows of pillars, with an elevated platform 
on which the scribes sat ; on the platform was 
also the sacred chest, the front of it turned 
toward Jerusalem, and within the chest were 
kept the manuscripts of the Law and other sa- 
cred books. Before the chest hung: a curtain. 



342 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

There were seats for the people, and on a plat- 
form at the farther end was a pulpit. Mint 
was sprinkled on the floor to perfume the air. 

The Sabbath service was performed by seven 
persons. If a priest were present he was called 
on first; he was followed by the Levites, and 
then by lay members. The principal part of the 
service consisted of the reading of the Law. 
Prayer came before this, and a passage from 
the prophets, and the benediction closed the ser- 
vice. The psalms were chanted, and the dea- 
cons took up a collection for the poor. Money 
was not the only thing given, for gifts of all 
kinds were received. It would seem strange to 
us to see a man put a bushel of potatoes on the 
collection plate ; but the Jews thought nothing 
of seeing one make an offering of wheat or bar- 
ley, or whatever he had, if it were not conve- 
nient for him to give money. 

The Sabbath was carefully observed. On the 
evening before, the Chuzzan went to the roof 
of a house, and blew the trumpet six times. At 
the first blast, labor ceased in the fields ; at the 
second, all work in the town stopped ; at the 
third, the Sabbath lamp was lighted — the Sab- 



THE BTVINE BOY — JESUS. 343 

bath had begun. All food was prepared the 
day before. No one ate before the morning 
prayers in the synagogues. No work could be 
done on the Sabbath, and no journey longer than 
two thousand paces could be taken. The Sabbath 
closed with a supper, during which wine and 
spices were used, and the light was kept burning. 

When Jesus was twelve years of age he was 
taken up to Jerusalem to a feast, tenting on 
the way. This was the first journey to the 
sacred city since a babe, and it presented to 
him the most animated scene he had yet be- 
held. Great crowds were flocking thither from 
all over the land, and tents were set up outside 
the walls and in the streets to accommodate the 
multitude who gathered there. How his heart 
must have thrilled as his company came to the 
hilltop, and the first view of the sacred city 
appeared, with its towers, its great walls, its 
glittering palaces — all crowned, on the top of 
Mount Zion, by the great temple gleaming with 
gold! 

It was on the third day of this feast and 
the day following that he was in the temple 
disputing with the rabbis. 



344 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

Life in the East is public. No calumny at- 
tached to him through his boyhood, any more 
than during his manhood. No one in Nazareth 
or elsewhere could bring anything against him. 
But many marvellous stories were told and be- 
lieved in the early ages regarding the boyhood 
of Jesus, which we will mention, not because 
there is the slightest truth in them, but to show 
how foolish these wonders are beside the really 
helpful works of mercy told of him in the New 
Testament. 

One of these stories was of a young woman 
who was dumb, and who took the babe in her 
arms and kissed him, and immediately was able 
to speak. 

Another was that a girl was cured of leprosy 
by being sprinkled with the water in which the 
babe Jesus had been washed. 

A young man, who had been bewitched and 
turned into a mule, was turned into a man again, 
so it was reported, when Jesus was placed on 
his back. 

These legendary tales also tell you that, while 
Jesus and his parents were on their way to Egypt, 
they met some robbers ; that two of them were 



THE DIVINE BOY — JESUS. 345 

named Titus and Dumachus ; that Titus urged 
his companion to allow these travellers to pass 
without being disturbed. But Dumachus refused, 
whereupon Titus offered his comrade a large sum 
as a bribe to do as he wished. When Jesus 
heard this, he prophesied his own death ; he said 
that these two thieves should be crucified with 
him, and that Titus should be the penitent who 
should enter Paradise. 

As they went on their journey, they came to 
a city with several idols in it, which on their 
entrance was turned into hills of sand. 

They went on to a sycamore-tree, where Jesus 
caused a spring to gush forth, in which Mary 
washed his coat. It is also told that Bartholo- 
mew, when a child, was cured when at the point 
of death by being laid in the bed in which Jesus 
had slept. 

Other still more foolish stories are given : one 
of them is that when Jesus and other boys were 
playing together, making clay figures of animals, 
Jesus caused these to walk ; also that he made 
clay birds, and caused them to fly and eat and 
drink ; also that he went into a dyer's shop 
when the man was absent and threw all his 



346 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

cloth into the furnace. When the owner re- 
turned he reproached Jesus with having ruined 
him; whereupon he said that he would change 
every color to whatever the man desired, and 
proceeded to draw out pieces of cloth, each 
changed into the color that the dyer wished. 

It was said that Joseph took Jesus with him 
wherever he went in the town, when he was 
sent for to make gates, or milk-pails, or sieves, 
or boxes, or other things that were in the line 
of his trade ; and when Joseph had anything to 
make shorter or longer, or wider or narrower 
Jesus would stretch his hand toward it and 
make it as it should be. 

Once Joseph was said to have been ordered 
to make a throne, and when he came to put it 
in place, after two years' work on it, it was 
found to be two spans short ; whereupon Jesus 
told him to take hold of one side, and he would 
take the other, and so it was stretched to the 
desired size. 

It was said that, when Jesus played with some 
boys at hide-and-seek, he had to find them. 
When he asked some women where the boys 
had gone, they said they had seen no one. He 



THE DIVINE BOY — JESUS. 347 

said, "Who are those in the furnace?" They 
said, " Kids of three years old." Then Jesus 
called, "Come here, kids;" and the boys were 
changed to kids. And afterward he changed 
them again into their natural shape. 

When a boy had been thrown from a house- 
top and killed, the parents accused Jesus of the 
act ; thereupon he called the boy back to life, 
and asked who threw him down, and the boy 
named the guilty one. 

When Mary sent him to the fountain for water, 
and he had broken the pitcher, he gathered the 
water in his mantle and brought it safely to 
the house. 

All of these are, of course, vain stories of 
things that never happened. They detract 
from the story of the marvellous life of Christ 
by belittling his God-given powers. There is 
no need of legend or tradition or silly tale of 
magic to explain or bolster up the divine life 
of Jesus, the Son of God. 

He was an obedient son to his earthly parents. 
We are distinctly told in the Bible narrative 
that "he was subject to his parents." He in- 
creased in wisdom and in stature, and in favor 



348 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

with God and man. He was a great favorite 
in the town of Nazareth, being beloved by all. 

Thus he lived until he was about thirty years 
of age, and began his public ministry to teach 
and save the world. 



THE FISHER BOY — PETEE. 349 



THE FISHER BOY: 

PETEE. 

The Sea of Galilee, also called the Lake of 
Tiberias or Gennesaret, is a pear-shaped body of 
water, twelve and one-half miles in length, and 
seven and one-half miles at its greatest breadth. 
Through it, flows the famous river Jordan. The 
water is fresh and clear, sweet and agreeable 
for drinking. An old writer says of it : " It is 
also of a temperate nature when you draw it 
up, and of a more gentle nature than river or 
fountain water, and yet always cooler than one 
could expect." 

There are no morasses, but the lake at every 
side ends directly at the shore and at the sand. 
It abounds with shoals of fish, and there are 
in it several kinds different from those found 
elsewhere. One of these is called by the Arabs 
El-ialtry, and by the original inhabitants Cora- 
cine. This fish is round in shape ; its flesh is 
slightly red and is valued highly as food. It 



350 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

is found nowhere else except in the Nile ; and 
on this account the Sea of Galilee was thought 
by some to be a vein of the River Nile, having 
an underground connection with it. 

Sudden storms sweep down upon this little sea, 
and as rapidly pass away. While a good oars- 
man can cross it in two hours' rowing, yet so 
quickly and with so little warning do the storms 
come up, that the fishermen are often caught 
by them. The level of the lake is more than 
six hundred feet below the Mediterranean. Ow- 
ing to its situation the heat from April to July 
is terrible ; but it is tempered by mild nights, 
although rest and sleep are much interfered with 
by the countless swarms of mosquitoes. 

In the first century the country surrounding 
the lake was very fruitful ; the shores were 
green and pleasant, and adorned with gardens. 
A great variety of trees was cultivated, among 
them the walnut, palm, fig, and olive. Grapes 
and figs ripened during ten months of the 
year, and other fruits from one end of the year 
to the other. Because of this fact the country 
was called " the ambition of nature," by one who 
could not sufficiently praise it in ordinary terms. 



THE FISHER BOY — PETER. 351 

In the town of Bethsaida, on the shores of 
this Lake of Galilee, a boy named Simon was 
born and reared; he is best known by his addi- 
tional name of Peter, which Jesus gave him later. 
Bethsaida was one of several towns that clustered 
upon the shore of this stretch of water ; among 
them, Capernaum and Tiberias are familiar to 
readers of the New Testament. All this region 
was busy and prosperous ; it was the scene of 
so much activity and energy that Dean Stanley 
has said of it : " It was to the Roman Palestine 
almost what the manufacturing districts are to 
England." 

Fishing was the principal industry of Beth- 
saida, and Peter's father, Jonas, followed this busi- 
ness, as probably his ancestors had before him ; 
for people of that time, especially those in such 
circumstances, and who lived along the coasts, 
were in the habit of taking up the same trade 
from generation to generation. His father had 
found fishing profitable, and had always been 
able to support his family comfortably by means 
of it. 

Jonas, indeed, was what might be called a 
wholesale fisherman. That the business was one 



352 BIBLE BOYS AND GIBLS. 

of importance there you may understand more 
fully by knowing that the name Bethsaida means 
" the house of fish." In Jerusalem was a gate 
called the Fish Gate, and near it was the fish- 
market, kept by the Tyrians, and supplied by 
the fishermen from the Sea of Galilee ; so that 
nothing could have been more natural than that 
Peter should grow up to be a fisherman. 

His earliest recollections were of the boats 
and the water, and of his father setting out 
across what seemed to his boyish eyes a mighty 
ocean. He had heard the fishermen's stories in 
the house and along the shore ever since the 
time that he could first remember. He saw 
them when they came back from the market 
at Jerusalem ; and he heard great tales of what 
they had seen there in the city, and listened to 
their discussion of business and prices. He had 
seen fish, and smelt fish, and eaten fish, and 
lived among fish, all his days. 

From the time when he was large enough to 
do anything at all, he had helped his father 
pack the fresh fish that were to be sent to Je- 
rusalem to be sold ; and he had helped cure, 
smoke, and salt those which were to be kept over. 



THE FISHER BOY— PETER. 353 

But it was not all work with him. There 
were play and pleasure there by the shores of 
the lake. What a proud day it was to Peter 
when he was bisr enough to get into a boat 
and learn to row ! How he would dip the oar 
too deep, and feel as if he were pulling up the 
whole sea when he tried to get it out again ! 
What splashing and catching of " crabs " there 
must have been by the young oarsman ! 

After a while, and when he had become larger 
and stronger, he learned to do better, and could 
make a boat spin skilfully, with the best of 
them. Then he was promoted to the important 
duty of mending nets. When he could do this 
fairly well, he was given a chance to try his 
hand at making a new one. So, bit by bit, he 
learned the whole art of the fisherman. 

His first actual catching of fish was of course 
with the hook and line, before his arms were 
strong; enousrh to handle the nets. With some 
boy companions he chose a shady nook along 
the shore ; then they all watched for a nib- 
ble as anxiously as if their lives depended on 
it; and no products of the sea ever looked to 
him larger or more important than did those 



354 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

first captures that were his very own. How 
beautiful and wonderful they seemed, and how 
much better they tasted when they were cooked 
than any others had done ! 

Once again, when Peter had outgrown his 
boyhood, he fished with a line. It was long, 
long after this, when he was with Jesus in Ca- 
pernaum, and the Master told him to take a 
hook and catch a fish that they might pay the 
tribute money that was demanded of them. 

What famous times the boys had learning to 
swim ! Having in prospect the fisherman's life 
for themselves, it would not do to neglect that 
art upon which their safety might oftentimes 
depend. So they dabbled along the shore from 
early childhood ; then they grew bolder, and 
plunged in overhead, and struck out, and proudly 
told at home that at last they could swim. 
Now they were as much in their element in the 
water as upon the shore ; and how cool and 
sweet and clean it felt to them, when in the 
cool evening they plunged in, after the blister- 
ing heat of the day was over ! That laughing, 
splashing, shouting crowd of boys was a sight 
to see ! 



THE FISHER BOY — PETER. 355 

Peter also knew, on occasion, how to strike 
the fish in the shallows with a spear ; for all 
modes of capture were used. In this, too, he 
could experiment with his comrades before he 
was old enough to be taken in a boat out into the 
deep water. He learned, too, how to mend a 
boat ; how to make it water-tight when it had 
sprung a leak. Thus, all the art of the fisher- 
man in all its details was daily before his eyes, 
from the time when he began to observe any- 
thing ; and, as he grew up, he practised each 
step in it himself. 

More than two hundred fishing-boats were on 
this sea all the time ; and as they averaged four or 
five men to each, it is evident that a great many 
men found employment in the lake fisheries. 
We are to remember that when in the New 
Testament " ships " are spoken of on this water, 
boats are really meant. These had sometimes a 
sail, and sometimes not. There were rowlocks 
for two, three, or four pairs of oars. 

The oar has played a great part in human 
history. In days before steam, and long before 
that, when even sails were relatively of little 
use, men on the water were compelled to de- 



356 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

pend mainly on the oar. We read that " it 
was the oar that brought Phoenician letters and 
civilization to Greece ; it was the oar that pro- 
pelled the Hellenic fleet to Troy ; it was the oar 
that saved Europe from Persian despotism ; it 
was the skilful use of the oar by free citizens 
that was the glory of Athens in her prime." 

And again, " When the splendid fleet started 
in its pride for Sicily, seventeen thousand oars 
at a given signal smote the brine, and one hun- 
dred long ships raced as far as Egina." 

So we see that Peter was learning a very old 
and useful art when he learned to row. His 
trade of fisherman was also a very old and 
useful occupation. When you think about it 
rightly, it will strike you that when the apostles 
are spoken of as " uneducated fishermen," as 
some of them were, it is well to remember that 
there are a great many things to learn besides 
books. A life like that of Peter develops many 
valuable qualities in a man. It makes him 
hardy and daring, and quick and alert. It 
gives him a robust self-reliance, which is a very 
good thing to have, and which is very different 
from mere conceit. To learn to row and to 



THE FISHER BOY — PETER. 357 

swim, and to endure all kinds of weather — 
heat and cold and storm — without complaint, 
and to earn an honest living by helping to pro- 
vide food for the whole world, were all srood 
things for Peter, and were all part of his train- 
ing to become a great apostle. 

We may see in our modern fisheries huge 
boats with ten pairs of oars ; a mile of seine 
is frequently laid out from them, and thousands 
of barrels of herring and other fishes are taken 
at a single haul. But the work of the fisher- 
men on the Sea of Galilee was upon a much 
smaller scale. We read in the book of John's 
Gospel that a draught of fishes, which aston- 
ished an old fisherman like Peter, and which 
they had difficulty in dragging to land without 
breaking the net, consisted of " an hundred and 
fifty- three ; " the fish were probably as large as 
shad. 

Sometimes a net was used ; it was stretched 
from the shore into the sea for a hundred yards 
or so. Some of the men rowed out in a boat, 
making a semicircle, and brought in a hawser 
attached to the farther end. Those on the 
shore helped to drag the net in. It was sunk 



358 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

with weights at the lower edge, and the top 
was floated with pieces of light wood or cork. 

While they were drawing in the net, some 
of the men and boys on the shore would throw 
stones into the water to drive the fish into it, 
and to prevent their escape. 

Much of the fishing was done at night, as 
that was the best time. Blazing torches were 
carried in the boats, which glided along until 
the fish could be seen, and then the net was 
flung. 

A hand-net was also used : this was small, 
and was only employed when a man was fishing 
by himself. It was conical in shape, with a cord 
fastened at the apex. This cord was tied to 
the fisher's arm, and the net so folded that it 
would expand when thrown ; around the edge 
were bits of lead to make it sink. In using it 
the fisherman stood in the shallow water, where 
he could watch the movements of the fish. 

From the time that Peter was able to get 
into a boat he was accustomed to storms. A 
wetting did not trouble him, but only made 
him appreciate the more the comforts of the 
house and of dry clothing when he was at 



THE FISHER BOY — PETER. 359 

home again. He was an impulsive boy before 
he grew up to be one of the most impulsive of 
men. He was always getting into trouble, and 
keeping his parents anxious for fear he would 
be drowned because of his rashness. 

During, the rough life of exposure and toil 
as a fisherman, he developed the magnificent 
strength of character and of body which led 
Christ to call him a Rock, for that is the mean- 
ing of the name Peter. 

Because he became such a splendid apostle 
of Christ, endured so much for his Lord, and 
finally died a martyr, we may conclude that a 
fisherman's life is in many ways favorable to 
the development of firmness of character. Great 
and good men have come from all conditions of 
life, and Peter came from one of the humblest ; 
but seeing into what he grew, we may conclude 
that worth may arise anywhere. 



360 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 



THE HOUSEKEEPING GIRLS: 

MARTHA AND MARY. 

Dueing the time of the ministry of Jesus upon 
the earth, " he had not where to lay his head." 
This was in the sense of having no home of 
his own ; for very early he gave up that of his 
parents, and cast in his lot with those among 
whom he labored. 

Yet homes were opened to him in which he 
was received as friend, brother, and teacher, and 
where all was done for his bodily comfort that 
was possible. Among all these homes none was 
made more wholly his own, none where he 
was more cordially welcomed, or where he loved 
more to stay, than in that of Martha and Mary. 
The dwelling-place of these sisters, and of Laza- 
rus their brother, was always spoken of as that 
of Martha, from which we may presume that 
the parents were dead, and that she was the 
eldest child; thus she had become the head of 
the family, and entitled to this respect. 



MABTHA AND MARY. 361 

This home was in the town of Bethany. The 
village is now called Lazarieh, and lies abont 
two miles from Jerusalem, to the south-east, and 
on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives. 
The town is not of great importance, though 
having a beautiful situation ; its only claim 
to repute is its association with the life of 
Jesus, his visits to it, the great miracle he per- 
formed there, and his ascension from its neigh- 
borhood. 

When Jesus entered upon his ministry in Jeru- 
salem and its vicinity, this family was among 
those who were early attracted by him and by 
his teachings and deeds. When he came into 
their neighborhood Martha extended to him an 
invitation to their home, and it was accepted. 
He was received with the very greatest rever- 
ence and affection, and from that time onward 
was accustomed to go there frequently. 

When wearied with the day's teaching, worn 
by the noises of the city and by the crowds, 
Jesus was accustomed, in the evenings, to take 
a walk along the road to Bethany, and to find 
a peaceful retreat in this loving and hospitable 
home. What a change from the disputing Pha- 



362 BIBLE BOTS AND GIRLS. 

risees, the angry oppositions, the misunderstand- 
ings, the plots and threats, to this kindly roof, 
among these thoughtful friends. And what hours 
of cheer and peace they were to the members 
of the family, as Jesus opened to them in the 
privacy and restfulness of their home the pre- 
cious truths of salvation. Thus did this beau- 
tiful friendship become a source of comfort and 
peace alike to the Master and his friends. 

The characters of the two sisters are clearly 
defined and sharply contrasted in a few words 
in the New Testament. Martha was the house- 
keeper ; she was anxious about the affairs of the 
household and the table, " careful and troubled 
about many things." Mary was the contempla- 
tive character ; she desired to sit at the feet of 
the Master, and hear his words. Perhaps Martha 
thought that this showed a trait of idleness, or 
of carelessness in her sister ; for once, when she 
was anxiously preparing the table, she became 
vexed that Mary showed no disposition to help 
her. Somewhat petulantly, she left her work and 
went where the others were, saying, " Lord, dost 
thou not care that my sister hath left me to 
serve alone ? Bid her, therefore, that she help 



MARTHA AND MARY. 363 

me." To which Jesus made the memorable reply, 
" Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled 
about many things. But one thing is needful ; 
and Mary hath chosen the better part, which 
shall not be taken from her." 

After a time, when Jesus was absent, teach- 
ing and working wonders in another part of the 
country, a great shadow fell upon that home. 
Lazarus was ill, and it was feared that he would 
die. The sisters were very sorrowful at this, 
and wished that the friend in whose power they 
had so much faith could be with them ; so they 
sent a messenger to Jesus, saying, " Lord, behold 
he whom thou lovest is sick." 

But Jesus, knowing what he would do, con- 
tinued for two days in the place where he was, 
apparently not heeding their call. Then with 
his disciples he crossed the border into Judea, 
and walked toward Bethany. When he arrived, 
Lazarus had been dead four days. 

When Martha heard that Jesus was coming 
she went out to meet him, saying, " Lord, if 
thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. 
But I know that even now, whatsoever thou wilt 
ask of God, God will give it thee." 



364 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

Jesus said to her, " Thy brother shall rise 
again." 

Martha answered, " I know that he shall rise 
at the resurrection." 

Then Jesus said to her, " I am the resurrec- 
tion, and the life : he that believeth in me, 
though he were dead yet shall he live : and 
whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall 
never die. Believest thou this ? " 

Martha answered, " Yea, Lord : I believe that 
thou art the Christ, the Son of God." 

After this, she returned to the house and told 
Mary that the Master asked for her. Mary 
arose and went to him, where he still was at 
the border of the town. When she had come 
to Jesus she fell at his feet, with the pitiful 
cry, " If thou had hadst been here my brother 
had not died." 

Greatly touched by her sorrow, and by that 
of the mourning friends, Jesus wept. He then 
asked where the tomb was, and was led to the 
place. The Jews commented on his great love 
for Lazarus, and said, " Could not this man, 
which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused 
that even this man should not have died?" 



MARTHA AND MARY. 365 

When they reached the tomb, which was a 
cave with a great stone at its mouth, Jesus com- 
manded that the stone be taken away. Martha 
remonstrated that, as he had been dead four days, 
the body was now unfit to be seen, thinking, 
probably, that Jesus wished to look upon the 
face of his friend once more. But Jesus was 
obeyed, and the stone was removed. Then, hav- 
ing offered thanks to God for the power which 
was committed to him, Jesus cried with a loud 
voice, — 

"Lazarus, come forth." 

As the company stared into the darkness of 
the cave, they saw a movement of the body that 
lay within there. And then there advanced 
toward them a figure, all robed in white, and 
with a napkin about his head. Jesus com- 
manded that he should be loosed from the grave- 
clothes. Now there stood before them, living, 
the man who had been dead. A great awe fell 
upon the people. Lazarus was embraced by his 
sisters ; and the procession, that had witnessed the 
greatest miracle ever wrought, went slowly and 
wonderingly to their homes. 

But one more narrative is recorded in which 



366 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

these persons appear. That is at a time near 
the closing hours of Christ's life. Only six days 
before the Passover Jesus turned his steps once 
more toward the kindly home ; and when he 
had arrived there his dear friends made him a 
supper. Martha served at the table ; and Laz- 
arus, who had been dead, sat with the com- 
pany. 

While they were at table, Mary took a pound 
of ointment of spikenard, which was very costly, 
and poured it on the feet of Jesus, and wiped 
his feet with her hair. The odor of the per- 
fume filled the house. 

Judas, who was present, criticised this action 
as a waste ; he said that the money ought to 
have been given to the poor. Not that he cared 
about the poor ; but he was the treasurer of the 
disciples, and the money would have gone into 
his care. But Jesus appreciated the beauty and 
sincerity of Mary's action, and said, " Let her 
alone: against the day of my burying hath she 
kept this." To this supper a great company 
of onlookers had been attracted by the desire 
to see Lazarus, who had been restored from 
death. 



MARTHA AND MARY. 367 

Though the narrative tells us nothing further 
of the sisters, we may be certain that they were 
in the crowds that gathered about the cross and 
wept at the tomb ; and that they were faithful 
believers in the risen Lord unto the end of their 
lives. 



368 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 



THE SCHOLARLY BOY: 

SAUL OF TAESUS. 

Among the apostles of Christ there is no 
more striking figure than that of Paul, other- 
wise known as Saul of Tarsus. The events of 
his manhood stand out so boldly, his character 
was so strong, his course so bold, his actions so 
decided, his teachings so wise, that, view him 
from whatever point we may, we find him in- 
teresting and impressive. This is what is shown 
in the story of his later years. Now let us 
try to see if we can find in his boyhood a 
promise of what the man became. 

In order that you may not be confused re- 
garding his name, we will say a word upon that 
at the start. It is probable that this greatest 
of the apostles had a double name from the 
first ; such was not unusual at that time, and 
among his own people. One of these names 
was Aramaic, the common language of Syria, 
the other was Latin ; in other similar cases, as 



THE SCHOLARLY BOY — SAUL. 369 

in that of Simon Peter, the second name was 
Greek. It is true that several other theories 
have been advanced in explanation of this mat- 
ter, one of which, and the most generally ac- 
cepted, is that his name was changed at the 
time of his conversion. But the statement that 
we have given is probably the correct one. How- 
ever, Saul was more the name of his youth, and 
Paul that of his manhood. After he had gone 
out of Palestine, and away from the city of his 
birth, he always referred to himself, and was 
referred to, as Paul. Saul the name, and Tar- 
sus the city, appear to have been cast behind 
him at the same time. 

This city of his name and birth, Tarsus, was 
in Cilicia, which in ancient times was one of 
the most important divisions of Asia Minor. 
Cilicia was a long and narrow tract, being two 
hundred and seventy miles in length, and but 
sixty-eight miles in breadth. If you will look 
at your map of Mexico, you will see that Cilicia 
was something like the peninsula of Lower Cal- 
ifornia in form. On the maps you will also 
find Cilicia represented now partly by the mod- 
ern province of Adana. It was bounded on the 



370 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

north by the central ridge of Mount Taurus, and 
on the south by the Mediterranean. 

The map will show you further that the fa- 
mous river Cydnus flows by Tarsus. This river 
is formed by the union of three streams, all of 
which rise in the mountains immediately north 
of the city. It is both deep and swift, qualities 
which are not often found together in running 
water ; and it was very celebrated in ancient 
times for its coolness and clearness. Readers 
who are familiar with the history of Alexander 
will remember that it was a bath in this cold 
river that threw him into a fever which almost 
killed him. 

The region about Tarsus is tropic and fruit- 
ful ; there are great orchards and gardens, in 
which palms, orange-trees, figs, and other fruits 
of like sort, flourish in the greatest luxuriance. 
The summers are intensely hot ; but, by artificial 
irrigation, the plains, in which are the gardens, 
are kept from becoming entirely parched, and the 
conditions of heat and moisture in combination 
are secured to just that degree which insures 
the most abundant vegetation. The Cydnus has 
a course of fifty miles, and these irrigated and 



THE SCHOLARLY BOY — SAUL. 371 

fruitful lands adorn its banks for the entire dis- 
tance. In striking contrast to them may be 
seen in the distance the chain of the Taurus 
mountains, snow-crowned. 

Ancient Tarsus, the present city being called by 
the same name, lay on both sides of the river ; 
just as we see modern towns and cities in our 
own land, where rivers wind through fertile val- 
leys. But, since that day, the river has changed 
its channel, and now passes to one side of the 
town. It was a very ancient place indeed, and 
in the time of Xenophon, which was years be- 
fore Paul's day, was already great and flourish- 
ing. Coins of the city are still extant, as old 
as the days of the great Persian Empire, when 
it was under that rule. The Assyrians invaded 
Cilicia in the ninth century B.C., and this city 
of Tarsus is mentioned on the monuments under 
the name of Tarzi. Cilicia passed under Roman 
rule in the year 66 B.C., at which time it was 
subdued by Pompey, and made a Roman prov- 
ince. 

As soon as the country came under the rule 
of the Romans it began to make great progress. 
Mark Antony made it a free province — that is, 



372 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

one having magistrates of its own ; Augustus 
raised it to the dignity of a metropolis. 

Here in Tarsus was the seat of a great 
school of philosophy, which sent teachers as 
far as Rome. In the time of Paul, the philos- 
ophy of Plato predominated. The religion was 
pagan, and the false gods worshipped were 
Perseus, Apollo, and Athena ; but their wor- 
ship was mixed with that of the Phoenician 
and Syrian divinities. 

Among the traditions of the founding of Tar- 
sus, one was that it was begun by Sandan, who 
was one of the Cilician gods ; another account 
makes the Grecian legendary hero, Perseus, the 
founder, and the footprint of his fabled winged 
horse, Pegasus, was shown in proof. Among 
other strange things, the sword of Apollo, mi- 
raculously preserved from rust, was exhibited. 
One of the traditions of the city was that it 
was begun by Sardanapalus ; and at Anchiale, 
a town near by, was a statue of Sardanapalus 
which Paul had doubtless seen ; at any rate, he 
was familiar with the inscription which it bore, 
and which he quotes in an epistle. This statue 
represented the king as snapping his fingers, 



THE SCHOLARLY BOY— SAUL. 373 

while he uttered the sentiment, engraved on the 
pedestal " Eat, drink, and enjoy thyself ; the 
rest is nothing." Of this epitaph Aristotle re- 
marked that it was " fit for a hog- ." 

The people of the city at the beginning of 
our era were Syrians, Cilicians, Isaurians, Cap- 
padocians, Greek merchants, and Jews ; so you 
will see that Paul had opportunity to study 
many classes and conditions of men. 

His own people belonged to the Dispersion ; 
by this is meant the large number of Jews 
who, from the time of Alexander, had been led 
to settle beyond Palestine, either with commer- 
cial objects, or because attracted by other priv- 
ileges. In the great towns of Syria, Asia 
Minor, and Egypt, there were Jewish commu- 
nities many thousands strong. Paul's grandfather, 
who had lived in G-iscala in Galilee, had been one 
of these immigrants, and had migrated to Tarsus. 

In the civil war that ended with the fall of 
the Roman Republic, this city had embraced the 
side of Mark Antony, to whom it owed allegi- 
ance for having made Cilicia a free province; and 
it was here that the famous meeting between 
Antony and Cleopatra took place. It was a 



374 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

great political and commercial centre, as well as 
a seat of education and philosophy. Rafts of 
timber cut in the Taurus mountains floated 
from Tarsus to the Mediterranean. Manufactures 
abounded in the city. Vessels from Europe dis- 
charged their cargoes on its piers, and the treas- 
ures of Asia Minor were in turn embarked for 
Europe. 

Thus we see grouped here, in the place of 
Paul's childhood, learning, politics, commerce, 
and the industrial crafts ; so that the boy had 
unusual opportunities to observe and study the 
life and movement of the world, instead of 
knowing only a small and retired portion of it. 
This had its effect ; for it helped to broaden his 
mind and understanding, and to fit him to be 
the great teacher he afterward became. 

Of the manufactures of various sorts which 
were carried on in the town, the chief one was 
the weaving of goats' hair. Ropes, tent covers, 
and garments were made from it. Great flocks 
of goats were then, as now, herded on the Tau- 
rus hillsides ; the supply of material for this 
industry was, therefore, unfailing ; and the care 
of the goats, the preparation of the skins and 



THE SCHOLARLY BOY — SAUL. 375 

hair, and the weaving, gave employment to a 
great many people. 

We do not know the exact year of Paul's 
birth ; but it is certain that he was born in the 
first decade of our era. This would make him 
very nearly the same age as Jesus. His teach- 
ing and training began when he was very young ; 
and, by the time he had reached manhood, he 
was learned and scholarly. The language of his 
city was Greek, so that he was familiar with 
this from childhood, acquiring it as readily as 
we did our own mother tongue. He was also 
taught the Hebrew of the Old Testament, and 
he spoke the Aramaic, which was the common 
speech of the Jews of his day. Thus he had, 
from the first, the three languages which were 
needed for the purposes of study. 

To understand his early life, and the methods 
of his training, we must glance a moment at 
the character of his people. His father and 
grandfather were Pharisees, and strict observers 
of the Law of Moses. The Pharisees were a 
sect of the Jews who made the literal keep- 
ing of the Law, in its most minute particu- 
lars, the essence of righteousness and salvation. 



376 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

Besides these were the Sadducees, who were the 
rationalists of their day ; that is, the people who 
deduce their religious opinions from reason or 
the understanding, as distinct from or opposed 
to revelation. There was still a third sect, 
known as the Essenes, who were mystical and 
ascetic in their tendencies. 

Many of the Pharisees were undoubtedly good 
men, who sincerely thought that salvation was 
to be gained by the outward observances alone. 
But, on the other hand, many of them were 
mere formalists, caring nothing for the spirit of 
the religion which they practised ; these were 
they who " gave alms to be seen of men," and 
were " whited sepulchres, but within full of dead 
men's bones, and all uncleanness." Many of 
them observed all the forms of the ceremonial 
law; they were careful about the washing of 
cups and platters, and about the great number 
of their prayers, merely to win a name with the 
multitude for exceptional piety, while they did 
not endeavor to purify their hearts. 

Thus the Pharisees represented in their sect 
the best of the Jews, as also the worst of them. 
We have every reason to believe that Paul's 



THE SCHOLARLY BOY— SAUL. 377 

father and grandfather were of the sincere type 
of their sect. We know that Paul himself, while 
a Pharisee, and while paying the greatest atten- 
tion to the minute observance of the Law, was 
absolutely honest and sincere in doing so, and 
thought that the true way to salvation. He 
had been trained to believe that righteousness 
was to be obtained through such observances, 
and he was conscientiously endeavoring to do 
what he had been taught was right. We must 
remember that Jesus gave such men credit for 
their honesty of purpose ; and when he attacked 
the Pharisees he meant those who were the 
mere formalists, and who depended wholly on 
these external observances for salvation, while 
their hearts were unchanged. 

Paul was descended from a race of great men. 
He was of the tribe of Benjamin, who was the 
youngest son of Jacob, and the one who, after 
Joseph was taken from the patriarch and, as 
he believed, slain, was the best beloved son of 
his father. He was also a favorite with his 
brothers, and was lovable, although he seems to 
have been rather a weak character. But the 
tribe which descended from him was notable 



378 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

for quite other qualities. It was strong, fierce, 
brave, and warlike. It was the smallest of the 
tribes ; but in the desert it counted more than 
thirty-five thousand warriors, and at the time 
of the entrance to the Promised Land their 
number had increased to more than forty-five 
thousand. In the days of the judges a civil war 
arose between this tribe and the other eleven; 
and, in contending against so many, the tribe 
of Benjamin was reduced to six hundred men. 
Soon, however, they increased again, and once 
more became very numerous and strong. It was 
this tribe that gave the first king, Saul, to the 
nation. Later, it became so closely allied to the 
tribe of Judah as to be almost identified with it. 
It was of this tribe that Jacob on his death- 
bed had prophesied, " Benjamin shall ravin like 
a wolf." This prophecy was fulfilled in their 
entire character and actions. 

Paul was the greatest man the tribe ever 
produced, as he was also one of the greatest 
men of the Jewish nation during all its history. 
He was of pure blood, and could trace his an- 
cestry back in an unbroken line to the first 
patriarch or head of his people. He was the 



THE SCHOLARLY BOY — SAUL. 379 

very flower of his race ; and, as an illustration 
of the high regard in which he has been held, 
it has been said that " it took four thousand 
years to produce Paul." 

He represented in his own person most of the 
great qualities of his race. He had the " sense 
of the invisible" which was so strong among 
the Jews ; that is, the realization of the Being 
of God ; he had the highly developed spiritual 
nature of the prophets ; and he had the great 
faith. He not only equalled all others of his 
race in most things, but far surpassed them in 
many; for one thing, he was noted for his great 
courtesy, which won for him the distinction of 
being " the first gentleman who ever lived." 

Paul's family was one of some distinction and 
in good circumstances. His father possessed the 
right of Roman citizenship ; this was a prize 
highly valued, and justly so, because it gave 
great privileges, and exemption from many dis- 
courtesies and wrongs that the common people 
of that day were made to suffer. At that time 
the great Roman Empire included most of the 
known world, and had among its subjects vast 
numbers of slaves and of people without the 



380 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

rights of citizenship. Those who possessed these 
rights were comparatively few ; and such as had 
not these privileges might be abused almost with- 
out remedy by their rulers, and by all who 
were of higher station. A Roman citizen could 
appeal from any ill-treatment directly to the 
Emperor himself ; it mattered not how humble 
he might be in other ways, if he only possessed 
this precious right of citizenship. It was just 
as now in America, where any citizen of the 
Republic can appeal to his government against 
any wrong clone him anywhere in the world. 
Paul inherited this right from his father, who 
probably had gained it by some service done to 
the Roman power. 

In his home, Paul was trained just as was 
every Jewish boy of his time. At the age of 
five he began the study of the Bible, under the 
direction of his parents. Even earlier than this, 
perhaps, he had learned the Shema and the 
Hallel (the One Hundred and Thirteenth to the 
One Hundred and Eighteenth Psalms), or at least 
parts of them. At six he went to the school 
of the rabbis ; at ten he began the study of the 
oral law : at thirteen he became a " son of the 



THE SCHOLARLY BOY— SAUL. 381 

commandment," and at this age he began to 
practise certain religions observances and forms ; 
at fifteen he was trained in the " halachoth." 
He heard the Law read in the synagogues, and 
listened attentively to the discussions of the 
doctors and learned men. Children were per- 
mitted to ask questions of them, and doubtless 
Paul availed himself of this privilege. The rules 
for the education of children are laid down 
by Moses in the sixth and eleventh chapters of 
Deuteronomy ; and, by reading these, you will find 
just what was required of Paul. As his father 
was a strict Jew, he doubtless carried these rules 
out fully in the training of his son. Besides 
being thus instructed in the Bible and the Law, 
and the observances of the outward forms of his 
faith, he was, of course, taught the history of 
his race. This was a point never omitted by 
intelligent Jews, as it gave the young men an 
appreciation of the greatness of their own people. 
So Paul early learned of Abraham, Isaac, and 
Jacob, of Moses and Joshua, of Samuel, Elijah, 
and Daniel, and of the Maccabees. These were 
the stories of his childhood, perhaps even his 
earliest nurserv tales. 



382 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

He was thus reared in a pagan city as an 
intense Jew, and the contrast between the teach- 
ings of his home and the scenes of the city in- 
spired him with a complete disgust for the latter. 
The dark pictures of pagan life, as portrayed 
in his epistles, were drawn from what he had 
seen and heard, and they are confirmed by the 
pagan writers themselves. While the city had a 
zeal for philosophy, its morals at the same time 
were so low that we can have little realization 
of the situation. 

His childhood in Tarsus accustomed him from 
the first to crowded assemblies and thronged 
bazaars. He was familiar with the life of the 
city, with its streets, its trade, and with people 
of all classes and nations who were gathered 
there. These were what he observed and stud- 
ied. He seems to have had almost no appre- 
ciation of the beauties of nature. We find no 
trace of it at all in his writings. He uses a 
great many military figures, and illustrations 
drawn from the life of men, but none from 
nature. In this, his method was directly the 
opposite of that of Jesus, who in his parables 
and teachings showed constant observance and 



THE SCHOLARLY BOY — SAUL. 383 

appreciation of the very commonest aspects of na- 
ture, as revealed in the hills and plains about 
his own home. But this boy of the city, with his 
absorbing purposes, had his face buried in a book, 
rather than turned toward sea or sky or earth. 

It was enjoined on the Jews by their rabbis 
that every boy should be taught a trade ; so 
Paul, in his boyhood, was taught that of tent- 
making. This was a wise provision ; for it as- 
sured every man the ability to earn his own 
living in case the emergencies of life might 
require that his other chosen occupation or pro- 
fession, whatever it might be, had to be put 
aside. Thus, though one was destined for the 
arts, or for a learned profession, he was com- 
pelled, also, to learn to use his hands. Paul's 
trade served him well in this manner, when, later 
in life, the great apostle had become otherwise 
temporarily destitute. 

In acquiring a trade, it was quite natural 
that in Tarsus the boy should take up that of 
weaving goats'-hair ; for we have already told 
you that it was one of the principal products 
of that region. You must understand, however, 
that while Paul learned this trade, and doubt- 



384 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

less became very proficient in it, as he was ac- 
customed to do nothing by halves, he did not 
follow it as a matter of necessity, nor for the 
purpose of gaining a living from it ; so his work, 
even while he was learning it, occupied him but 
a portion of the day. The rest of the time he 
spent at school, whither, while yet too small to go 
by himself, he was conducted by an attendant. 

At thirteen a great change came to the boy; 
from this time dates his larger life and real 
knowledge of and part in the world. He was 
then sent to Jerusalem, to be taught by Gama- 
liel, one of the very great instructors of his 
time. This was an experience similar to that 
which many boys now have in going away to 
college. Paul was a very affectionate and lov- 
ing boy, and doubtless he felt just as boys now 
do when they have to leave home and go away 
to school in some distant place. Yet there was 
much to excite his interest and enthusiasm about 
the journey. His travels would lead him through 
scenes whose history had been familiar to him 
from the time when he first began to acquire 
knowledge. He was to pass places connected 
with the heroes of his people, whose stories had 



THE SCHOLARLY BOY — SAUL. 385 

been taught him in order that he might emu- 
late their deeds ; and he was to go to that famous 
city which was the centre of their national life, 
and where was the great temple of God. 

He probably went by ship, going aboard a 
Phoenician vessel at his native city, on the Cyd- 
nus, and coming to anchor in the harbor of 
Csesarea, from which place he journeyed by land 
to the Holy City. He had a married sister in 
Jerusalem, and with her he made his home, 
His teacher, Gamaliel, was one of the most cele- 
brated of the Jewish rabbis ; he was one of the 
seven to whom was applied the title Rabban, a 
very high distinction. Gamaliel was one of the 
few rabbis who permitted the study of the "wis- 
dom of the Greeks." Paul had used, at home, 
the Greek translation of the Old Testament, 
which is called the Septuagint, and which is the 
version used by the Jews of the Dispersion. As 
we have seen that he knew both Hebrew and 
Aramaic in addition, he was, we know, qualified 
to study in several tongues. 

At the feet of Gamaliel, Paul sat for many 
years, and gained a profound knowledge of the 
Bible. He also lived, in Jerusalem, the strict 



386 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

life of a Pharisee, as he himself tells us. He 
was accustomed to the minute Sabbath obser- 
vances ; to rules and prohibitions ; to questions 
of fringes and the tying of tassels ; lawfulness 
of meats and drinks; fasts; triple prayers of 
the day, and triple visits to the temple ; strain- 
ings of water and wine ; rinsing of cups and 
scouring of pots and. tables. About all these 
ceremonial cleansings the Pharisees were so par- 
ticular that the Sadducees said wittily of them, 
" The Pharisees would wash the sun if they 
could get the chance." 

By these things, and by bathings of the whole 
person, with tabulated ceremonies and gesticula- 
tions, by phylacteries (charms and amulets worn 
about the neck), and by almsgivings, they aimed 
to keep the whole Law, and thus attain right- 
eousness. 

Such was the training of Paul. He was of a 
very impetuous and fiery disposition, but loyal 
and affectionate. He lived a pure life, and strove 
to be a perfect Jew. But after all, when he 
became a Christian, he saw the vanity of these 
things, and declared that " by the works of the 
law no flesh shall be justified." 



IN CONCLUSION. 38' 



IN CONCLUSION. 

The Bible, like other books of ancient times, 
tells more of the later than of the earlier years 
of most of those who appear in its history. 
This manner of treatment suits the purposes 
for which it was written ; namely, to give a 
moral and spiritual revelation. Its characters 
are brought into the narrative at the points 
where they have a direct relation to its plan. 
For instance, Cyrus is introduced in his mature 
manhood, just where he had a bearing on 
the destiny of the chosen people of God. the 
Jews. 

The Bible assumes that we can learn the other 
parts of the career of Cyrus from secular records. 
It assumes that by ordinary means of research 
we can find out the conditions of the early life 
of the other personages likewise. It never 
passes over childhood and, youth as if these 
were unimportant, but treats them simply as 
matters that do not properly come within its 



388 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS, 

scope. If a complete biography of each char- 
acter who appears in the Bible were given within 
it, the book would be so cumbrous as to be 
unavailable for common use. Such a method 
would also lead, by the multitude of details, to 
confusion regarding its main purpose. These 
are the reasons why few complete biographies 
are found there. 

Nevertheless, our natural desire to know more 
of these men and women is aroused, and we 
are specially anxious to learn what kind of boys 
and girls they were. 

Young people, also, wish to be informed if the 
young people of Bible days were the same as 
they are now. Fortunately, great light has been 
thrown upon this very matter by the researches 
made in our own time into the remains of an- 
tiquity, as shown both in books and monu- 
ments. 

There never was a period in the history of 
the world when so great an interest was taken 
in boys and girls as now ; this is manifested 
among other things in the method of writing 
modern biographies, which nearly always begin 
with the boyhood and girlhood of the characters 



IN CONCLUSION. 389 

treated. If you take up a life of any recent 
great man, such as Washington, Lincoln, or 
Napoleon, you will find long chapters dealing 
with his birth, parentage, and early develop- 
ment and experiences. The minutest details are 
given, and pictures are inserted that show the 
great man in all the various periods of his 
life. 

We, likewise, have written this book in what 
may be called the modern spirit; and we have 
put into it all that is known and all that may 
be reasonably assumed, which can add interest 
and clearness to the early life of our characters. 
The material is to be found scattered through 
many other books written for mature persons ; 
but it has never before been gathered into one 
for young people, and put forth in the shape 
in which we now present it to you. The latter 
life of these characters you will find accessible 
in other books, and will follow them up as you 
grow older. 

We have shown you what were some of the 
conditions of life for the first boy ; what the 
life of a boy was in Chaldea, in Egypt, in Pal- 
estine, in Persia, in Cilicia. We have shown 



390 BIBLE BOYS AND GILES. 

you princes and kings and princesses. We have 
shown you the farmer, the fisher, the slave, 
and the witch. We have shown you the patriot, 
the beauty, the prophetess, and the housekeeper. 
We have shown you the priest, the genius, the 
athlete, the captive, the inventor, and the hunter. 
In short, we have selected the characters so as 
to give variety to our description, and thus 
lead you to understand somewhat, the different 
countries and different modes and stations of 
life. From these you will be able to get an 
idea of the circumstances of the other persons 
of the Bible whose youth we have not touched 
upon. 

As we trust many of you will in the future 
be able to travel in the countries of which you 
have read in this book, we hope your inter- 
est may be awakened by the descriptions here 
given. 

Some of the characters of this book became 
very great ; some were among the most con- 
spicuous persons who ever lived in the world ; 
some have not been so notable ; but all played 
an important part, directly or indirectly, in the 
history of the past. They all present lessons; 



IN CONCLUSION. 391 

as the good are to be followed, and the wicked 
to be avoided. In presenting good and bad im- 
partially, we have done just as the Bible does ; 
for it tells all about the people who appear in 
its pages, trusting that the conscience of the 
reader will be attracted to follow the good, and 
be revolted by the evil. It does not attach a 
moral to each actor in so many words, but 
leaves the narrative to the moral faculty and 
good sense of the individual. 

By this book we hope to have accomplished 
two purposes for our young friends. 

One of these objects was to tell you many 
things by way of instruction. 

The other was to awaken, among young 
people, an interest in the Bible itself. We 
hope that, after reading about all these boys 
and girls, you will be interested in the book 
in which their later lives are recorded, and 
in whose history they occupy a conspicuous 
place. 

The Bible is the greatest of all books. From 
a historical, a literary, a moral, or religious point 
of view, it is the most important volume you 
can study. Without a knowledge of it you can 



392 BIBLE BOYS AND GIRLS. 

never be thoroughly educated, either intellectu- 
ally or spiritually. 

If by these stories of the boys and girls of 
the Bible we may have awakened in you a desire 
to learn more and more of that book of books, 
we shall have done that which will make us 
glad, and which will be profitable to you. 



